The Ken-Betwa river linking project, the country's first such project for irrigation, has been given a nod for environmental clearance (EC). First mooted in the 1980s, the project estimated to cost above Rs 10,000 crore, proposes to transfer water from Ken river basin in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa river basin in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh.
The union Environment Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on river valley and hydroelectric projects held a meeting on December 30 to appraise the project where the committee recommended it for EC. In early 2016, EAC had deferred clearance as the project was not granted wildlife clearance. The wildlife nod was given in September 2016 and in the very next meeting, December 30, it was cleared for EC.
The project had to mandatorily receive a wildlife clearance as it is going to fragment the Panna Tiger Reserve and submerge 40 sq km of its core area. The tiger reserve had lost all its tigers in 2009 to poaching and deaths and was repopulated after a successful tiger reintroduction programme.
Speaking to DNA on the project nod, union water resources minister Uma Bharti said, "I am quite happy that the first river linking project has received an environmental and tribal clearance. The project has already received wildlife clearance and now we are working out the funding pattern with NITI Aayog."
During its meeting, the EAC discussed that conditions have already been put in to mitigate impact on wildlife, and doubts regarding the hydrological feasibility have been resolved. It also said that a landscape management plan, sought by members of the previous EAC to safeguard wildlife and forest, should be delinked from the environmental clearance as it covers an area beyond Panna.
The EAC recommended the project for 'grant of EC' with nine specific conditions. These include the condition on 'recording the impact of project on wildlife, breeding ground of species, during the pre and post construction stages'.
It has also said that since 9,000 hectares will be submerged, changes in micro-climatic conditions in the area during construction and later should be documented and reported.
Besides the EAC's conditions, the water ministry has to abide by conditions of the National Board for Wildlife. To compensate for the loss of 40 sq km of forest in Panna reserve, it has been recommended to integrate Nauradehi, Rani Durgavati and Ranipur wildlife sanctuaries in the Panna tiger reserve.
Environmental experts have panned the process of clearance and questioned the project's viability vis a vis its impact on ecology. "The earlier committee of EAC had said that clearance will be given after landscape management plan is prepared, but that step has been bypassed. Hydrology wise, data on water availability in the river basins is not in public and fragmentation of Panna will have a huge impact on wildlife," said Himanshu Thakkar, environmental expert and water activist, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.
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