Central Govt constituted Ken-Betwa link Project Authority and 20-member Steering Committee

The Central Government has constituted a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) i.e. Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA) for the implementation of the Ken-Betwa interlinking of rivers (ILRs) project. It also formed a 20-member National Steering Committee (SC) which will monitor the implementation.

• The SPV will be headed by a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of additional secretary rank.
• On the other hand, the committee will be chaired by the Secretary (Currently- Pankaj Kumar), Ministry of Jal Shakti.

About SC:

i.The formation of SC is on the lines of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) and State Governments of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) on the occasion of World Water Day i.e. March 22, 2021.

ii.It will also have secretaries of ministries of environment, power and tribal affairs and the Department of Expenditure secretary. 

iii.Additional chief secretaries of UP and MP governments, Central Water Commission chairman, heads of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), National Waterway Development Authority (NWDA) and officials from state wildlife departments will also be in the panel.

About Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers (ILRs) project:

It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for ILRs. For this, the Central Government will provide a support of Rs. 39,317 crore which include Rs 36,290 crore as grant and Rs.3,027 crore as loan.

• Ken-Betwa link project passes through Panna National Park which is situated in Panna and Chhatarpur districts of MP. It is also a tiger reserve.
• It is proposed to be implemented in 8 years with state of the art technology and will generate 103 MW (Mega Watt) hydropower and 27 MW solar power.
• It involves transfer of surplus water from the Ken river to the Betwa river through the construction of Daudhan dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project. 

Benefits:

i.It will provide an annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh ha (Hectare) thereby increasing agricultural activities and employment generation; drinking water supply to a population of about 62 lakhs. 

ii.It will benefit the water starved Bundelkhand region, spread across the states of MP and UP and mainly benefitting the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of MP; and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi & Lalitpur of UP. 

Recent Related News:

On December 9-14, 2021, the 6th edition of the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) 2021 was organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (c-Ganga) in a hybrid mode. Physically it was held at NMCG office, New Delhi and IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Static Points about Rives Betwa and Ken:

i.The river Betwa or Betravati which is also called river Vetrawati in Sanskrit one of the major river basins of Madhya Pradesh (MP). It is a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in MP and flows north-east through MP and Orchha to UP. 

ii.Ken River is one of the major rivers in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It is also a tributary of the Yamuna. The river originates near the Village Ahirgawan in Jabalpur District of MP and joins the Yamuna River, near Chilla Village in UP.