Ken-Betwa River Linking Project Launched to Transform Bundelkhand
The ₹44,605 crore initiative aims to address water scarcity and boost development in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, while raising environmental concerns.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project on December 25, 2024, marking the 100th birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- The project will irrigate 2.51 lakh hectares of farmland and provide drinking water to over 6.5 million people across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
- The initiative is the first under India's national river interlinking policy and involves transferring water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River in Uttar Pradesh.
- Critics, including Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, have raised concerns about ecological damage, including the potential submergence of 10% of the Panna Tiger Reserve and the felling of over 2.3 million trees.
- The project is expected to generate 103MW of hydropower, 27MW of solar energy, and significantly contribute to the economic development of the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
Hindustan Times 
Free Press Journal 
