Shivraj thanks Centre for Ken-Betwa river project fund allocation

Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to the Central government after Rs 1,400 crore was allocated for Ken-Betwa river linking project.

The project in the drought-prone region of Bundelkhand, spread across 13 districts of two states — Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, is expected to benefit nearly 10 lakh hectare of agricultural lands.

“Expressing my gratitude towards the Central government for generous allocation. This will speed up the project and bring prosperity and growth for lakhs of people in Bundelkhand region,” Chouhan said.

“Implementation of Ken-Betwa linking project at estimated cost of Rs 44,605 crore to be taken up with irrigation benefits to 9 lakh hectare farmland. A budget of Rs 1,400 crore has been allocated in the financial year 2022-23,” the Union Finance Minister said during her Budget speech in the Parliament on Tuesday.

Besides water for irrigation, the project is expected to provide drinking water supply to more than 60 lakh population living in 13 districts of the two border-sharing states — Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

It will also provide water for generating 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW solar power, a Sitharaman said.

The Union Cabinet had on December 8, 2021 approved the project and had estimated that the project will be completed in the next eight years.

The Ken-Betwa river linking project will provide benefit to the water starved districts — Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh. While, districts such as Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh.

It is the first project under the Central government’s National Perspective Plan for inter-linking of rivers.

The ambitious project envisages transferring of water from Ken river to Betwa river, both tributaries of the river Yamuna.