Over 17,000 trees to be felled for Ken-Betwa project: Centre

More than 17,000 trees are set to be felled in Madhya Pradesh for the ambitious Ken-Betwa river interlinking project, including over 12,000 trees from within the Panna Tiger Reserve, the ministry of jal shakti said on Monday.

The government said no protest against the decision to fell trees has been reported by the concerned project authority, district administration and forest department.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for jal shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said the Ken-Betwa Link Project is the only river interlinking scheme under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) that has reached the implementation phase.

"Under the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), in the state of Madhya Pradesh, approximately 17,101 trees have been identified for felling to facilitate the execution of the Daudhan Dam and allied infrastructure. Of these, 12,404 trees have been felled within the Panna Tiger Reserve Forest," the minister said in a written response.

A total of 7,193 families are expected to be affected by the project, and the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are responsible for carrying out land acquisition and resettlement as per the law. A special compensation and rehabilitation package was approved by the Madhya Pradesh government in September 2023.

"As per records available at the time of issuance of Section-11 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act, 2013), the project involves 7,193 project affected families (PAFs)," he said.

The Centre said the figures were based on project assessments, and implementation is being done as per the legal provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The reply also noted that out of the Rs 4,469.41 crore budgeted for the project over the last three years, Rs 3,969.79 crore has already been spent.

The Ken-Betwa link is the first of 30 river-linking projects identified under the National Perspective Plan to reach the implementation stage. Detailed project reports have been prepared for 11 projects so far, with the rest at various stages of feasibility assessment.