Indian Ken-Betwa river-linking project gets wildlife clearance

The "last" hurdle for India's ambitious Ken-Betwa river-linking project has been cleared with the wildlife board giving its green signal, the Indian government announced today.

Indian Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said that her Ministry has received wildlife clearance for the multi-crore rupee project, first such initiative aimed at linking inter-state rivers in the country, reports our correspondent from New Delhi.

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However, it awaits forest and environment approvals, the correspondent said.

"The NITI Aayog (earlier Planning Commission) had earlier recommended funding pattern for the project as per Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). I have requested the Aayog that the funding pattern has to be 90:10 (Centre: state sharing pattern) or 100 percent (Centrally-funded)," the Indian minister said.

"The moment the funding pattern is decided, the project will be launched," she added.

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Bharti did not specify by when the funding pattern will be finalised for the river-linking project.

The Ken-Betwa inter-linking project is the first of the several other projects of linking major rivers across India.

The Ken-Betwa project is expected to irrigate 6.35 lakh hectares of land at an estimated cost of Rs 9,393 crore in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region covering parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states.

Bangladesh has voiced concern over the impact of the river-linking project in eastern India and on the flow of water in the common rivers concerned to the lower riparian country. India has in the past repeatedly assured Bangladesh that it would not do anything that would harm the lower riparian country.