Concerns Over River Interlinking Project

• 16 Jan 2024

Why in News?

According to a report, a major dam project in Madhya Pradesh, part of the ambitious river interlinking project, has been found to be in violation of environmental clearances by a central government's expert committee.

Key Points

• The dam project under the scanner is the Lower Orr dam which began in 2019. It is part of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.
• The national interlinking of rivers (ILR) is the idea that rivers should be inter-connected, so that water from the surplus rivers and regions could be transferred to deficient regions and rivers to address the issue of water scarcity.
  • This led to the setup of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) in 1982.
• There are four major projects for which detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared are: Ken-Betwa link, Damanganga-Pinjal link, Par-Tapi-Narmada link, and Mahanadi-Godavari link.
  • The criticism of interlinking of rivers ranges from ecological consequences, displacement of natives, to the flawed premise of the exercise.
• The Lower Orr project under the scanner involves the construction of a dam and a canal network.
• As of 2022, when the alleged irregularities came to the light, around 82% of the dam and 33.5% of the canal network had been completed without a clearance from the Union Ministry of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as per the findings of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).

Ken-Betwa River Link Project (KBLP)

• It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for the interlinking of rivers, which aims to transfer surplus water from one river basin to another to address water scarcity and enhance irrigation.
• The KBLP involves transferring water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River in Uttar Pradesh, both of which are tributaries of the Yamuna River.
• The project has two phases, with mainly four components:
  • Phase I will involve one of the components- the Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units such as the Low-Level Tunnel, High-Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal and powerhouses.
  • Phase II will involve three components: The Lower Orr Dam across the Orr River, a tributary of the Betwa, the Bina Complex Project, and the Kotha Barrage.