New Delhi: Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Monday said with the wildlife board’s nod, the last hurdle for Ken-Betwa river link project has now been crossed. Addressing a function here, Bharti said the construction work would begin after deciding the project’s funding pattern. An idea that rolls back to 2002 and was forwarded after a memorandum was signed between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the project aims to boost irrigation in drought prone regions of both the states by linking the Betwa and Ken rivers. However, as per Environment Ministry, the project would cause harm to the forests and wildlife habitat.
According to the Environment Ministry, the first phase of the project would result in a loss of 58.03 sq. km. of the Panna tiger habitat of. However, the project is also expected to provide drinking water to over a million people and irrigate about 6 lakh hectare of land in the drought prone area in both the states, especially Bundelkhand.
