Last month, adivasi protests in Madhya Pradesh made headlines. Their demonstrations progressed from Chita, Mitti, Jal and Phansi satyagraha – lying on funeral pyres, smearing mud on their bodies, submerging their bodies in water and finally tying ropes around their necks – all symbolizing the devastation that river interlinking would cause.
This has drawn attention to the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), the first of 30 projects proposed under the National River Linking Project (NRLP). These claim to provide water and electricity to drought prone regions. The entire project has an estimated cost of more than Rs. 5.5 lakh crores! (for perspective, that is 1 followed by 12 zeroes!)
Like most ‘development’ projects pushed by the BJP and promoted by the Godi media, this is just another disaster in disguise for both the environment and the people.
Exterminate the Environment!
Rivers Ken and Betwa are tributaries of Yamuna that run between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Ken flows through the Panna Tiger reserve (PTR) which is home to species like tigers, leopard, rusty-spotted cat, sloth bear, chausinga, vulture, etc. many of which are threatened or critically endangered. Ken river also deposits silt downstream, making it a crucial habitat for aquatic animals, specifically for gharials to lay eggs.
With a budget of Rs. 44,605 crores, the KBLP project aims to transport surplus water from Ken into Betwa and claims to provide irrigation to the water deficient region of Bundelkhand. It involves building the Daudhan dam on the Ken river inside PTR along with a 230 km canal. However, the construction will flood 9000 ha of land where 10% of the PTR will be submerged. The dam will also stop the flow of silt – changing soil composition and damaging aquatic habitats.
Together, animals both on land and water will be affected. This includes tigers, foxes, deer, gharials and fish.
Around 30-40 lakh trees will be lost to the KBLP. There is agriculture already happening in the region which has caused water stress in recent years. The loss of lakhs of trees is expected to further amplify water stress.
Plunder the People!
The construction will also submerge 24 villages displacing 22,000 people, 95% of whom are adivasis. However, in 2019, researchers found that locals had no idea that the project was coming despite advertisements in national media, highlighting lack of communication on ground. Also, project surveys have been conducted without consulting gram panchayats.
Although compensation has been promised, the ground reality is different. Many names are missing from rehabilitation lists. Of those, only half have received money – that too below the promised amount. 60-70% of compensations have gone to ineligible and fake beneficiaries. Even though the adivasis own land for agriculture, compensation has focused mostly on money, land has rarely been compensated. Moreover, the lives of adivasis are closely tied to their land and forest. Their knowledge systems help them collect, use and sell forest products. Displacement will not only strip them of land but also erase their culture and identity.
This led to wide-spread adivasi resistance to KBLP. The government reacted by brutally evicting them. Reports show that schools and homes have been destroyed and electricity has been cut off leading to difficulties in preparing food. This led to last month’s protests, when the Gond, Biga and Kol communities conducted demonstrations in the Ken river. One of the lead organisers, Amit Bhatnagar, went on an indefinite hunger strike. On the 14th day, in the early morning, the police came, mishandled and beat up protesters and loaded them onto vans and cleared them from the site. Amit was forcefully admitted to a hospital and people were restricted from seeing him. The incident sharply mimicked the police brutality unleashed on student protestors in Delhi!
Ignore the truth, eyewash the nation!
In 2017-18, the Supreme court asked the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to review KBLP. Since PTR is a tiger reserve, the CEC highlighted legal protections that prevent activities threatening wildlife and opposed the Daudhan dam. Importantly, the CEC’s investigations also found that to provide water to Bundelkhand, local alternative approaches already exist at much cheaper costs. Hence, the supreme court’s own findings show that the entire ken-betwa project is completely unnecessary!
Despite this, the government began construction in 2025. Daudhan dam’s contract has been given to NCC Ltd. Records show that they donated Rs. 60 crores through electoral bonds to BJP. So the contract is just a payback. Meanwhile, the government runs several ads in popular media to portray the project as a miracle solution to the water crisis – all while destroying nature and people!
State: A repeat offender!
The river-interlinking project echoes a repeating pattern in India. Mega “development” projects are pushed with the promise of water and electricity only to destroy our natural resources and decimate dalits and adivasis. The Sardar Sarovar Dam submerged 37,000 ha of land, wrecked fish populations and displaced more than 1 lakh people across 245 villages. The Tehri Dam submerged fertile lands, displaced more than 1 lakh people and even triggered landslides! From Narmada to Bastar, from Vizhinjam to Ken-Betwa, the government has made way for “development” ravaging both people and their Jal-Jangal-Jameen – only to benefit the rich (like Adani, Ambani, Tata, etc.).
