Wed Dec 25 05:55:56 UTC 2024: ## Modi’s Ken-Betwa Project Sparks Environmental Concerns
**New Delhi, December 25, 2024** – The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday has ignited a fierce debate over its potential environmental impact. Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh criticized the project, arguing it poses a significant threat to the biodiversity-rich Panna Tiger Reserve.
Ramesh stated that the project will submerge over 10% of the reserve’s core area, resulting in the loss of vital tiger and vulture habitats. He highlighted the felling of over 2.3 million trees and the disruption caused by construction activities. Furthermore, he pointed to the commissioning of one cement factory and the planned construction of three more near the reserve, raising further concerns about the cumulative environmental impact. He also questioned the project’s underlying assumptions about surplus water availability, suggesting that alternative, less damaging locations for the dam could have been considered.
The Ken-Betwa project, the first under India’s national river interlinking policy, involves the construction of a 77-meter-high dam and two tunnels on the Ken river within the Panna Tiger Reserve. Ramesh emphasized Panna’s remarkable success story in tiger population recovery, from complete extinction in the early 2009s to its current thriving population of over 90 tigers. He characterized the project as a stark contrast between the Prime Minister’s environmental rhetoric and his actions.
First Piper 