Context:

On the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project.

More on the News

• PM laid the foundation stone of the Daudhan Irrigation Project, part of the river-linking project.
• The PM on this occasion also inaugurated the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project (the largest floating solar park in India) in Khandwa district of the State virtually. 

Ken-Betwa River Linking Project

It envisages transferring surplus water from the Ken River to the Betwa River, both tributaries of the Yamuna. 

The Ken-Betwa Link Canal will be 221 km in length, including a 2-km tunnel.

The Ken-Betwa Link Project has two phases. 

• Phase I: It will involve building the Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units such as the Low-Level Tunnel, High-Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal and power houses. 
• Daudhan Dam: It is a 77 m high dam across river Ken. It is 2,031 m long dam out of which 1,233 metres will be earthen and the rest 798 m will be of concrete.
• The funding pattern of Phase-I is 90% (Central Grant) and 10% (State Share).
• Phase II: It will involve three components — Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project and Kotha Barrage. The funding pattern of Phase II is 60% (Central Grant), 30% (Central Loan) and 10% (State Share).

The Government of India approved the KBLP with an estimated cost of Rs 44,605 Crore with central support of 39,317 Crore for implementation jointly by the Centre and States of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA).

KBLP is the first project under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the interlinking of rivers, which was prepared in 1980. 

• The goal of the National Perspective Plan (formulated in 1980) is to transfer water from the surplus basin to the deficit basin. 
• It comprises two components: 

a. The Himalayan Rivers Development, and 

b. The Peninsular Rivers Development.

The KBLP was declared as a National Project in the year 2008. 

Salient Features of the Project

The project is expected to provide annual irrigation to 10.62 lakh hectares (8.11 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 2.51 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh) of land.

It is expected to supply drinking (to around 62 lakh people) and irrigation water in Madhya Pradesh, covering districts like Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Panna, Damoh, Vidisha, Sagar, Shivpuri, Datia, and Raisen. It will also serve districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Mahoba, Banda, Jhansi, and Lalitpur.

It will generate 103 megawatts (MW) of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.

The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region.

• Bundelkhand is a semi-arid region of India that comprises seven districts (Jhansi, Jalaun, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Banda and Chitrakoot) of Uttar Pradesh and six districts (Datia, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Damoh and Sagar) of Madhya Pradesh.