Central Empowered Committee will come tomorrow amid MP-UP controversy

The Central Empowered Committee, formed on the direction of the Supreme Court for environmental approval of the project, will come to Madhya Pradesh from 27 to 30 March amid the ongoing dispute between MP and UP over the sharing of water of the Ken-Betwa link project. This committee will inspect Panna National Park and part of the dam adjacent to it. The committee will prepare the project and assess the damage to the environment from the dam and submit the report to the Supreme Court.

The project will then be given environmental clearance. On the other hand, where the Center has been favoring Uttar Pradesh on the sharing of water, but after the change of power in the state, MP has refused to give water to UP as per the demand. Now a decision will be taken regarding the sharing of water in the meeting to be held in Delhi. The controversy over the sharing of water between the two states may become an issue in the elections before the Lok Sabha elections.

Officials of MP Water Resources Department have refused to provide more than 700 MCM water. In the initial phase of the project, the UP government had demanded 700 MCM water from this dam for the Rabi season, but later 900 MCM water was sought. Last year, meetings were held from MP to Delhi, but no solution was found. The DPR prepared for sharing of water between the two states mentions giving 930 mcm of water to UP.

NWDA DG came to Bhopal recently to discuss this. He also met officials of the Department of Water Resources. The Department of Water Resources made it clear that no more than 700 MCM of water can be supplied to UP. Therefore, this matter will once again go to Delhi. MP and UP officials will sit with the officials of Union Water Resources Ministry and try to resolve the dispute.