The Ken-Betwa Project is an ambitious irrigation project proposed in 1982 by the Centre to link the Ken and Betwa rivers flowing through Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The government claims the project would provide an annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh ha, while also benefit 62 lakh families by meeting drinking water and electricity needs in the drought-prone areas of the two states. The project, comprising a 221-kilometre-long canal between the two rivers as well as two reservoirs, requires the felling of more than 1.8 million trees, besides submerging most of the 6,400 hectares of forestland in and around Panna Tiger Reserve.

The project will also submerge nearly 9000 hectares of private, common and forest land. The project is slated to displace more than 7,100 families in Madhya Pradesh alone. Being conceptualised under the auspices of the National Water Development Authority (NWDA), the project has attracted innumerable controversies including potentialities of large scale displacement, loss of livelihood, massive ecological destruction, wildlife & biodiversity loss and uncertainties over tangible benefits of the project, to name a few. While many environmentalists have demanded scrapping of the project, most affected villagers are demanding fair compensation to the families that will be displaced.

Kamlesh Yadav from Palkohan village said in a news report, “We do not know what this project is about. We came only because a jeep came to our village, saying we were going to be displaced and that we should attend the public hearing. We have come to demand a fair compensation for displacement, because we know we can’t stop the government from throwing us out.”

Activists allege that the villagers were not provided enough information on the project before the public hearing. In fact, they say that they were not aware of any public hearing or notices issued to the village panchayat. Many were not aware of the nature of the project and were under the impression that it was a dam.

Despite the lack of information and misinformation, most villagers pleaded only for fair compensation rather than raising environmental concerns because many allegedly face harassment by forest officials inside the tiger reserve and want to be relocated, a report says.

The project also witnessed legal challenges in form of petitions before the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal, over its massive impact on forest, wildlife and environment. LCW had previously spoken to Himanshu Thakkar from the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People on 11 October 2019, where he informed about absence of final forest clearance and bilateral agreement between the two states, back then.

However, the government side-stepped the concerns raised by the Supreme Court mandated Central Empowered Committee and its own Forest Advisory Committee, while proceeding with the project implementation. On 23 March 2021, the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh signed a tripartite agreement with Centre to implement the project. Further, in December 2021, Cabinet approved the interlinking of two rivers, while a Steering Committee and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA) were constituted for implementation of project.

After six years of being given ‘in-principle’ approval, the project also received final forest clearance on 3 October 2023.

As per the NWDA, the compensation and rehabilitation plan is to be assessed as per the LARR Act, 2013. Accordingly, Madhya Pradesh State Cabinet in 2023 cleared a special package for rehabilitation and resettlement, under which proposals included payment of Rs 12.50 lakh per hectare to affected families. It was reported that the contours of the special package were ameliorated to the benefits of the recipients, after multiple protests by villagers seeking fair compensation.

Nevertheless, the processes of land acquisition have been shadowed in procedural lapses and irregularities, where reports of flawed land surveys and undervaluation have aggravated the concerns of the villagers. The villagers in Madhya Pradesh districts have expressed apprehensions citing lack of clarity on acquisition process and the feasibility of packages in the long run for those who would be taken far away from forest resources. People also fear that the river linking project meant to end water and economic woes of the Bundelkhand region, could further exacerbate their livelihood struggles.

In December 2024, Prime Minister laid foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project in Khajuraho, while preparations for construction of Daudhan Dam, a significant component of project have also begun.

Nonetheless, the project continues to witness resistance from many affected families who have rejected the rehabilitation options offered by the government. As on April 2025, no affected families have been rehabilitated. Some families have received the compensation amount in their bank accounts, however, it not what was promised but a lesser compensation.