Ken-Betwa interlinking gets forest clearance

Environment ministry panel does a U-turn, does not want dam height reduced

The environment ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has recommended the interlinking of the Ken and Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh.

The project had hit a snag because it will submerge 5,578 hectares of prime tiger roaming areas in the Panna National Park.

This leaves only two more steps for the project to secure the complete set of approvals required under environmental regulations and Supreme Court orders. 

The Supreme Court’s Centrally Empowered Committee would have to give a nod to the project and then the environment minister would have to clear the recommendations to let the project go ahead. 

Ministers have rarely ever overturned recommendations