The Ken-Betwa Link Project, presented by the government as the answer to Bundelkhand’s water crisis, is in essence a plan to move water out of the region, according to Himanshu Thakkar, convener of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. In an interview with Down To Earth’s Bhagirath, Thakkar points to a Central Empowered Committee report showing the project repeats an old planning error rather than fixing one: earlier dams at Rajghat, Matatila and elsewhere already strained water management within the Betwa basin. The proposed fix diverts Ken water into the Betwa so that new dams can be built upstream on the Betwa itself.
The “surplus” in the Ken has long been contested. A former Collector of Panna had written to the Planning Commission and the state Water Resources Department noting that the Upper Ken basin’s water was simply under-utilised, not surplus — and that full implementation of the 1983 Ken Multipurpose Project would consume it entirely for irrigation and drinking water in Panna, Chhatarpur and surrounding areas. Panna district was not even on the original beneficiary list; it was added later once questions arose about what the district stood to gain. Thakkar’s assessment: even under the original plan for water to flow from the Daudhan dam through the Bariyarpur and Gangau barrages into Madhya Pradesh, no real surplus would remain.
The consequences extend beyond accounting. The Ken’s natural downstream flow will be severely reduced while the upstream area becomes a large reservoir, triggering large-scale deforestation. Technically, this is a water-transfer-and-lift project rather than a simple link — since the Betwa sits at a higher elevation, Ken water will need to be pumped upward to reach it.
Downstream, hundreds of villages across Mahoba, Banda and Chhatarpur depend on the Ken year-round for drinking water, irrigation and groundwater recharge. Thakkar notes that the Environmental Impact Assessment offers no clear analysis of what reduced flow will mean for these communities, their agriculture, or the river ecosystem.
Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/water/ken-betwa-river-linking-project-will-have-severe-consequences
