Ken-Betwa River Linking Project poses serious threat to Panna Tiger Reserve: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said that by laying the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give another proof of the difference between his "talk and walk" on environment as it poses a serious threat to the Panna Tiger Reserve.

Modi will lay the foundation stone of the project, the first such initiative under the national river interlinking policy, at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.

"Today the PM is giving one more evidence of the difference between his 'talk' and 'walk' on environment and forest matters. The Ken-Betwa river linking project for which he is laying the foundation stone today poses a serious threat to the biodiversity-rich Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

Panna is the most remarkable success story of revival as by early 2009 its tiger population had been completely wiped out. Thanks to the tiger reintroduction programme launched 15 years ago, India's first, presently Panna has around 90-plus tigers, including cubs and sub-adults, and is thriving with sustainable tourism-based livelihoods, the former environment minister said.

The project will submerge over 10 per cent of the core area of the tiger reserve, he said.

"Not only prime tiger habitats - but also those of other species like vultures - will be lost. The ecosystem will be bifurcated. More than 23 lakh trees are to be felled. Construction activities will be a severe disturbance," he added.

Ramesh further said that three cement factories are being planned and one has already been commissioned in the vicinity of the park. There are questions on the basic assumptions on surplus water itself.

"What is unfortunate is that there are alternatives for executing the project (like locating the dam upstream) without causing such extensive ecological damage," the Congress leader said.

Under the project, a 77-metre-high and 2.13-kilometre-long Daudhan dam and two tunnels (upper level 1.9 km and lower level 1.1 km) will be constructed on the Ken river in the Panna Tiger Reserve.