Ken-Betwa linking won’t hit Panna tigers: Water ministry

NEW DELHI: The water resource ministry has prepared a detailed reply to the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) assuring that the area of Panna reserve which will be inundated under the Ken-Betwa river linking project does not have a tiger population and care will be taken to ensure minimum displacement of vultures while going ahead with the ambitious scheme.
The project is intended to alleviate the chronic water shortage in Bundelkhand.
Though the key statutory body under the Wildlife Protection Act has expressed concerns over aspects of the Ken-Betwa river linking project in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the likely impact on wild cats might be limited as tigers are seen in other parts of the Panna reserve, sources said.
Water resources minister Uma Bharati has incorporated assurances in response to the board’s report to the ministry which flagged how the project would affect the tiger reserve and vultures if forests were diverted for the river linking project. The minister’s reply will also highlight its efforts to strike a reasonable balance between ensuring benefits to people in the parched Bundelkhand region on one hand and protecting the tiger habitat and vultures.
“After all, the NBWL has not objected to the Ken-Betwa river linking project per se. It has, in fact, given its in-principle approval provided we address certain concerns,” a top ministry official said.
Bharati in her reply to the Board will argue that diversion of the forest would be compensated by a massive afforestation drive. As far as an inundation of 400 out of 4,300 hectares of Panna tiger reserve is concerned, the ministry is ready with evidence claiming the area has not seen a single tiger for a long time. “Tiger population is concentrated on the other side of the reserve. We are confident that the NBWL will take note of the minister’s reply,” the official said.