Ken-Betwa river link project

Context: Recently, Steering Committee of the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) held its third meeting in New Delhi.

About the project:

• The link will be in the form of a canal that will be fed by the new Daudhan Dam on the Ken, to be built within the Panna Tiger Reserve.
• The dam will generate 103MW of hydroelectric power.
• In phase-I, the Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units such as the Low-Level Tunnel, High-Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal, and powerhouses will be completed.
• Construction of the Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project, and Kotha Barrage will be progressed in phase II of the project.

Significance of the Project:

• With this project, the government aims to benefit the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread to several other districts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• The project is expected to boost socio-economic prosperity in the backward region of Bundelkhand, on account of increased agricultural activities and employment.

Concern about the project:

• May incur an estimated loss of 58.03 square kilometres (10.07 per cent) of critical tiger habitat (CTH) in the reserve.
• An indirect loss of 105.23 sq km of CTH because of habitat fragmentation and loss of connectivity due to submergence.
• High reservoir-dam on the Ken River in the Panna National Park will impact ecology of important tiger reserve and its habitat.
• It has high chances of getting drowned if project gets completed.
• On the downstream of Panna national park lies the Ken Gharial Sanctuary which will severely impact critically endangered Gangetic gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).
• Standing Committee of the NBWL has not considered the impact of the project on the gharial sanctuary.
• Project has not received full forest clearance and its environment approval is pending before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Source:  The Hindu

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Gandikota canyon of South India was created by which one of the following rivers ? (2022)

1. Cauvery
2. Manjira
3. Pennar
4. Tungabhadra

Q.2) Consider the following pairs:

Reservoirs        :                States

1. Ghataprabha :     Telangana
2. Gandhi Sagar :     Madhya Pradesh
3. Indira Sagar :     Andhra Pradesh
4. Maithon :             Chhattisgarh

How many pairs given above are not correctly matched? (2022)

1. Only one pair only
2. Only two pairs only
3. Only three pairs
4. All four pairs