₹45,000 crore Ken-Betwa river link project faces legal setback:All approvals lapse; construction continues without forest clearance

The country’s first river interlinking project, the Ken-Betwa Link Project, has become embroiled in legal and technical disputes. An examination of government documents has revealed that several mandatory conditions for forest clearance have not been met. Among these, the most crucial condition, the rehabilitation of affected families, is still incomplete. According to rules, if the necessary conditions are not met, the project needs to obtain forest clearance again. District administration data indicates that the complete rehabilitation of affected families has not yet occurred. Furthermore, important recommendations from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have also not been fully complied with. Under these circumstances, questions are being raised about the validity of this project, worth approximately 45,000 crore rupees. To understand the legal and technical disputes of the project, Bhaskar examined government documents and spoke with experts. Attempts were made to get a statement from Forest Department officials on this matter, but they did not provide any response.
6,000 Hectares of Panna Tiger Reserve’s Core Area to be Submerged Under the Ken-Betwa Link Project, the Daudhan dam is being constructed to supply water to the districts of Bundelkhand. Its construction will submerge more than 6,000 hectares of forest area in the core zone of Panna Tiger Reserve. Considering this environmental impact, the project was given forest clearance in two phases. Stage-1 forest clearance was received in May 2017, and Stage-2 approval in October 2023. In both phases, several essential conditions related to environmental protection, wildlife safety, and rehabilitation of affected people were laid down, many of which were similar. An examination of government documents has revealed that these mandatory conditions have not been fully complied with. Let’s understand which conditions were violated and what are its legal and technical implications? Common Conditions for Forest Clearance Condition-1: Physical Transfer of Land and Declaring it as Reserved Forest A common major condition of the forest clearances received in 2017 and 2023 was that the non-forest land identified for compensatory afforestation should first be physically handed over to the Forest Department and declared as ‘Reserved Forest’ under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. As per Condition-4 of Stage-1 Forest Clearance (May 2017), this process was required to be completed before Stage-2 Clearance. This provision was included as condition-2 in the Stage-2 clearance (October 2023). Under this, 6,809 hectares of non-forest land to the west of Panna Tiger Reserve were to be included in the forest area, out of which 6,017 hectares of land were to be made part of the Tiger Reserve. Additionally, it was mandatory to complete the process and declare this land as reserved forest by April 3, 2024. Ground Reality: Transfer on paper, but no physical possession The government issued the relevant gazette notifications between March 29 and June 14, 2024. In the sixth review meeting of the project held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on July 19, 2024, the then Field Director of Panna Tiger Reserve stated that the land had been transferred and mutated in records, but the Forest Department had not yet received its physical possession. Rehabilitation incomplete, hence possession could not be obtained The main reason for not getting physical possession is that the rehabilitation of affected families has not yet been completed in many places. Due to this, people could not vacate the land and many government lands are still encroached upon. Condition-2: Ban on power plant in forest, yet preparations for construction The second common condition of the Ken-Betwa Link Project’s forest clearance was that no power plant or power house of any kind would be built within the main forest area. Condition-13 of Stage-1 Forest Clearance (May 2017) clearly prohibited the construction of a power plant within the forest. The same provision was reiterated as Condition-11 in Stage-2 Forest Clearance (October 2023). Reality: Despite the ban, proposal for a 78 MW power plant According to documents, despite clear restrictions, the Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA) is moving forward with a proposal to establish a 78 MW capacity power plant within the Panna Tiger Reserve. According to environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar, the project’s official map still includes the power plant proposal. He states that in the review meeting on July 19, 2024, the possibility of constructing a power house within the forest was discussed, contrary to the conditions of forest clearance, and it was decided to conduct a separate study for this. Unfulfilled Conditions of Forest Clearance Condition-11: New tree count was mandatory Under condition-11 of Stage-1 Forest Clearance, it was necessary to conduct a fresh intensive count of all trees in the project area. The purpose of this was to assess the actual environmental damage caused by the project. However, the ground situation is different. BK Patel, Deputy Director of Panna Tiger Reserve, admitted that no new count of trees was conducted in the project area. Condition-23: Incomplete Compliance with Recommendations of National Institutions Under condition-23 of Stage-1 Forest Clearance, the state government was required to strictly ensure compliance with the recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), and the directions and approvals of the Supreme Court. Available documents and the current status of the project indicate that several important recommendations of CEC and NTCA have not been fully complied with. This raises serious questions about the project’s statutory compliance and adherence to the conditions of forest clearance. Questions on compliance with time-bound conditions of Forest Clearance Condition-5: Revenue villages were to be handed over to the Forest Department within 12 months According to Condition-5 of Stage-2 Forest Clearance, all revenue villages in the project area had to be handed over to the Forest Department within 12 months of receiving approval. For this, the rehabilitation and resettlement of affected families had to be completed. This process could not be completed within the stipulated timeframe. Discontent persists among the affected villagers regarding the rehabilitation policy and compensation, and protests have taken place in several villages in recent months. This indicates that the revenue villages could not be fully handed over as per the condition. Condition-43: Provision for automatic termination of permission if conditions are not met Condition-43 of Stage-2 Forest Clearance stipulates that if all stipulated conditions are not complied with within one year of receiving approval, the approvals will be considered terminated. Existing documents and the project’s status indicate that several essential conditions could not be met within the stipulated timeframe. Environmentalist’s claim – Legal questions on compliance with conditions According to environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar, the Ken river’s water further merges into the Yamuna, so a scientific assessment of the river’s natural flow and the minimum water requirement of the downstream area should have been done. He says that such an assessment is not publicly available. According to him, many mandatory conditions for Stage-1 and Stage-2 forest clearance in the project were not fully complied with. Environmental Clearance (August 2017): Questions also raised on compliance with the first condition The project received environmental clearance in August 2017. According to the first condition of its Part-A, 100% rehabilitation, resettlement, and compensation distribution for all affected families had to be completed before construction began. According to rehabilitation data from Chhatarpur district, many affected families have not yet received full compensation, and the rehabilitation process is also incomplete. Response sought from Forest Department, no reaction received To know the official stand on all these issues, information was sought from the Forest Department and via email, requesting a response regarding compliance with the conditions of forest clearance and the legal status of the project. These questions were asked to the department, for which no answer was received-