BBC Hindi
Thousands of villagers in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh protest against the multi -million dollar project connecting Rijeka, which, they say, will rob them from their homes and resources for life.
Ken-Betwa project, with a budget of 440 billion Rupees ($ 5.06 billion; $ 4.05 billion), will channel excess water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River in the neighboring State of Uttar Pradesh via a network of tunnels, channels and Bran .
The first of 16 such projects that connect river connection intended for the Indian national promising plan for the development of water resources in the 1980s. The plan faced multiple delays – mainly because of the care of the environment and political disputes – before the government cleared it in 2021.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for its construction in December last year.
The project should help the dry Bundelkhand region – which includes parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh – where the dry climate and unpredictable rain patterns have led to decades of poverty and underdevelopment.
The Government says that after the end of 2030, it will help irrigate 1.06 million hectares of land, provide drinking water 6.2 million people and create 130mw hydroelectric power and solar energy.
But at least 10 villages, including huge parts of valuable forest land, will be submerged to build a dam accumulation, and another 11 villages will be displaced to build a canal and affect more than 7,000 families, the correspondent officials say.
“Our lives are related to this country – we do not know what our future has more to do,” said Tulsi Adivasi, who is among the thousands of villagers who protest against the project.
Most of them belong to the Gond and Kol indigenous tribes, which live along the edge of the forest and depend on the agriculture for life.
Environmental experts warn that the project will insert nearly 98 square kilometers of Panna Tiger Reserve, 543 square kilometers shrines successfully returned Tigers from local extinction in 2009.
This could undo the years of the effort of preserving. “It’s unprecedented. We have never seen the basic area of the National Park, which used to be used for such a large infrastructure project,” says Ecological Amit Bhatnagar.
In 2019, the expert council who founded the best Indian court also caused concern for the project, questioning his economic sustainability and impact on wildlife in the region. The Government, according to, should explore alternative methods of irrigation in the river basin.
Independent studies on Rijeka projects in India have made similar observations.
Study 2023 published In the nature of the nature, communication states that such efforts “can exacerbate water stress throughout the country, making these projects ineffective or perhaps even counterproductive.”
Baleshwar Thakur, who runs the National Water Development Agency, defended the project by saying that the authorities had conducted thorough research and acquired all environmental authorities for the project.
“We have also determined additional land to make up for the loss of the Tigra habitat, and we will rehabilitate other types affected by the project,” he said.
The government official admitted that there would be a potential “challenge” of the biodiversity of the region, but said “the use of the project outweighs the harmful effects.”
The guarantees made little to comfort the villagers.
At the heart of Daudhan, 48-year-old Mahesh Adivasi sat with a group of men, who expressed their disagreement in the form of a protest song.
“Ken-Betwa builds the Government, it gives others water, but drowning us,” they sang, the texts that caught their anxiety.
The village is one of the poorest areas in the region, and it lacks basic objects such as pure drinking water and electricity.
The bitter irony of the Rijeka project is not lost on their people – they wonder why they ask them to leave their homes to ensure electricity in 13 other districts when their own village has never had power.
“We have seen generations pass without progress. Now, we are asked to sacrifice our lives for the progress of others. What about us?” Said Mahesh Adivasi.
The Government offered the villagers an optional fee plan, where they could decide on a piece of land together with $ 750,000 (8,655 dollars; £ 6,842) or a one -time payment of 1,250,000 rupees. For those who own the land, it will also be given an additional amount based on the value of the land.
Mr. Thakur said about 90% of people decided to take a lump sum. “In the meantime, the government began to seek alternative government land to move the villagers,” he added.
But the locals say the amount offered is not enough. Tulsi Adivasi showed BBC Hindi Government Notice that evaluated his house on 46,000 rupees.
“Can a house be built with so much money?” he asked.
Others complain that they have not been informed when they have to evacuate or where they would move, encouraging anxiety for their future.
“The project was supposed to be a blessing for our village, but it is true that it will push us further into the darkness,” said Lakshmi Adivasi, 20.
The assertion also raised questions that the project is intended to direct excess water from the Ken River.
Critics point out that the Government relied on outdated data from 2003, without an independent check, to calculate the annual yield of Rijeka.
Mr. Thakur denied allegations and said that the authorities “have all the information to continue the project.”
Mr. Bhatnagar, an ecologist, said that, continuing with the project, the Government set a “dangerous precedent” for similar development programs that would be carried out in other geologically sensitive areas.
“And for those affected once again, it emphasizes that development in India often comes at the price of the smallest marginalized,” he added.
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