Budget boost for river linking projects.

One of the biggest announcements made in Budget 2022-23 is the implementation of the Ken-Betwa Link Project with an estimated cost of ₹44,605 crore. This river link is expected to create 9.08 lakh hectares of irrigated area, drinking water for 62 lakh people, 103 MW hydro and 27 MW of solar-power.

Further, the Finance Minister also announced that “Draft DPRs of five river links, namely Damanganga-Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada, Godavari-Krishna, Krishna-Pennar and Pennar-Cauvery have been finalised. Once a consensus is reached among the beneficiary States, the Centre will provide support for implementation”. With this announcement, the river linking projects have now got a fillip after many years.

The Ken-Betwa Link project proposes to transfer water from the Ken river to the Betwa river, - both tributaries of Yamuna. With a 2-km long tunnel, this link project will have a total of 221 km long canals. The water-starved Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh covering a total 13 districts will primarily benefit from this project. 

HBL