More than 17,000 trees, including over 12,000 from the core area of Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, will be felled for the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project, the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti stated that no protest had been reported against the tree-felling by the concerned project authority, district administration or forest department. The project, it emphasised, remains the only one under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for river interlinking to have reached the implementation stage.
“Under the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), in the state of Madhya Pradesh, approximately 17,101 trees have been identified for felling to facilitate the execution of the Daudhan Dam and allied infrastructure. Of these, 12,404 trees have been felled within the Panna Tiger Reserve Forest,” Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said in a written reply.
The project is expected to affect 7,193 families, for whom the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are responsible for land acquisition and resettlement. A special compensation and rehabilitation package was cleared by the Madhya Pradesh cabinet in September 2023, he added.
Also read: Centre flags state resistance as 'hurdle' in river-linking plan
“As per records available at the time of issuance of Section-11 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the project involves 7,193 project-affected families (PAFs),” the minister said.
The government clarified that all assessments were carried out in accordance with the provisions of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013.
According to the reply, the financial allocation for the Ken-Betwa link project over the last three years stood at ₹4,469.41 crore, of which ₹3,969.79 crore has already been utilised.
The Ken-Betwa link is the first of 30 proposed river-linking schemes under the National Perspective Plan to have entered the implementation phase. Detailed project reports have been finalised for 11 more, while others remain under feasibility review.
Environmental groups and wildlife experts have consistently expressed concern over the ecological impact of the project on the tiger habitat of Panna. However, the Centre’s latest reply did not make reference to any opposition from environmental quarters.
Follow us
