"Tribal protests over rehabilitation failures stall Ken-Betwa river-link project"
National Perspective Plan (NPP)
1980 plan envisaging 30 inter-basin river links across Himalayan (14) and Peninsular (16) components
Inter-basin water transfer (IBTW)
engineered diversion of water from a surplus river basin to a deficit basin via canals or tunnels
India's National Perspective Plan (NPP), formulated in 1980 by the then Union Ministry of Irrigation and the Central Water Commission (CWC), envisions 30 inter-basin water transfer (IBTW) links to redistribute water from surplus river basins to deficit ones. The plan is divided into two components: Himalayan Rivers Development (14 links) and Peninsular Rivers Development (16 links), with project identification and planning entrusted to the National Water Development Agency (NWDA). The underlying rationale is that India's rainfall and river flows are spatially uneven — the Brahmaputra and Ganga systems carry enormous volumes while peninsular and central Indian rivers face chronic seasonal deficits.
The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is the first of these 30 links to receive formal approval, making it a policy milestone. Approved by the Union Cabinet in 2021, the project involves transferring declared surplus water from the Ken River — a Yamuna tributary flowing through Madhya Pradesh — to the Betwa River, another Yamuna tributary flowing into Uttar Pradesh. The centrepiece infrastructure is the Daudhan Dam in Panna district, Madhya Pradesh, from which a 221-km link canal (including a 2-km tunnel) will carry water westward. The project is estimated at approximately ₹44,605 crore, jointly funded by the central government and the two beneficiary states.
Inter-basin water transfer works on the principle of hydrological surplus-deficit matching: water is physically diverted from a basin where seasonal flows exceed consumptive demand to one where demand chronically exceeds supply. The KBLP targets the Bundelkhand region, one of India's most drought-prone and economically distressed zones straddling southern Madhya Pradesh and southwestern Uttar Pradesh. The project promises irrigation to over nine lakh hectares, drinking water to approximately 4.4 million people across 12 Madhya Pradesh districts and over 2 million people across 10 Uttar Pradesh districts, and generation of 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.
The project's environmental dimension is its most contested aspect. The Daudhan Dam reservoir will submerge a portion of Panna Tiger Reserve, a protected area that achieved a celebrated tiger reintroduction after the species went locally extinct in 2009. …
Consider the following statements :
1.The definition of "Critical Wildlife Habitat" is incorporated in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
2.For the first time in India, Baigas have been given Habitat Rights.
3.Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officially decides and declares Habitat Rights for Primitive and Vulnerable Tribal Groups in any part of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The National Perspective Plan (NPP) for river interlinking in India proposes a total of 30 links. Which of the following correctly describes its two components?
Consider the following statements regarding the environmental concerns associated with the Ken-Betwa Link Project:
1.The Daudhan Dam reservoir will submerge a portion of the Panna Tiger Reserve.
2.Panna Tiger Reserve had experienced local extinction of tigers, which were subsequently reintroduced.
3.The Ken Gharial Sanctuary, located in the project zone, is home to gharials, mahseer fish, and endangered vultures.
4.The central government has made all hydrological data of the Ken and Betwa basins publicly available.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following Acts mandates that Gram Sabha consent must be obtained before land acquisition in Scheduled (tribal) Areas, and is directly relevant to the rehabilitation controversy surrounding the Ken-Betwa Link Project?
Assertion (A): The Ken-Betwa Link Project's construction timelines have proceeded even as rehabilitation of displaced tribal communities remains incomplete.
Reason (R): The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 requires that rehabilitation and resettlement be completed before physical displacement of affected communities.
Which of the following is correct?
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