Centre Has Cleared Ken-Betwa River Linking Project: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday that the Centre has cleared the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project, which will provide water to the impoverished Bundelkhand region.

It is a lucky day for Madhya Pradesh and Bundelkhand, the CM said in a video message. The project will irrigate the 10.6 lakh hectares of land besides providing drinking water to 62 lakh people in the region, he said.

The parched Bundelkhand region straddles Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The project to link the Ken and Betwa rivers has been envisaged under the Centre's national river interlinking policy.

Mr Chouhan said two electricity projects – 103 MW hydropower and 27 MW solar plants – will be set up under this river-linking initiative. Two other power projects of 72 MW capacity will also be put up, he said and added, “Congress did nothing for this region… They only stalled the project.” Assembly elections in the BJP-governed MP are due by the year-end.

He said that irrigation facilities in the state have been increased to 47 lakh hectares from seven lakh hectares in 2003 and work is underway to take it up to 65 lakh hectares.

The “double engine” government of the BJP – at the Centre and state – has transformed Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan said thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for clearing the project.

State BJP president V D Sharma, who represents the Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat in Bundelkhand, said the Centre has cleared the proposal for using 6,017 hectares of forest land for the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project.

After this clearance, the work on the project will speed up, he said. This project will transform the Bundelkhand region in MP and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, he said.

During the monsoon season, Mr Sharma said, MP will get 1,834 million cusecs of water through this project.

Chhatarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh, Niwari and Damoh districts of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur districts of Uttar Pradesh will benefit through this project, said Mr Sharma, adding that his parliamentary constituency will also be a gainer. 

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