\u092c\u0948\u0920\u093e \u0939\u0942\u0901 \u0907\u0938 \u0915\u0947\u0928 \u0915\u093f\u0928\u093e\u0930\u0947\u0964<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u092e\u094b\u0926 \u092e\u0941\u091d\u0947 \u0930\u0947\u0924\u0940 \u0926\u0947\u0924\u0940 \u0939\u0948<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u0930\u0947\u0924\u0940 \u092a\u0930 \u0939\u0940 \u092a\u093e\u0901\u0935 \u092a\u0938\u093e\u0930\u0947<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092c\u0948\u0920\u093e \u0939\u0942\u0901 \u0907\u0938 \u0915\u0947\u0928 \u0915\u093f\u0928\u093e\u0930\u0947\u0964<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u0927\u0940\u0930\u0947-\u0927\u0940\u0930\u0947 \u091c\u0932 \u092c\u0939\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u0938\u0941\u0916 \u0915\u0940 \u092e\u0943\u0926\u0941 \u0925\u092a\u0915\u0940 \u0932\u0939\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092c\u0921\u093c\u0940 \u092e\u0927\u0941\u0930 \u0915\u0935\u093f\u0924\u093e \u0915\u0939\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u0928\u092d \u091c\u093f\u0938 \u092a\u0930 \u092c\u093f\u0902\u092c\u093f\u0924 \u0930\u0939\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092e\u0948\u0902 \u092d\u0940 \u0909\u0938 \u092a\u0930 \u0924\u0928-\u092e\u0928 \u0935\u093e\u0930\u0947<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092c\u0948\u0920\u093e \u0939\u0942\u0901 \u0907\u0938 \u0915\u0947\u0928 \u0915\u093f\u0928\u093e\u0930\u0947\u0964<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092a\u094d\u0930\u0915\u0943\u0924\u093f-\u092a\u094d\u0930\u093f\u092f\u093e \u0915\u0940 \u092e\u093e\u0901\u0917 \u091a\u092e\u0915\u0924\u0940<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u091a\u091f\u0941\u0932 \u092e\u091b\u0932\u093f\u092f\u093e\u0901 \u0909\u091b\u0932 \u091a\u092e\u0915\u0924\u0940<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092c\u0917\u0941\u0932\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u0940 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u093f\u092f \u092a\u093e\u0901\u0924 \u091a\u092e\u0915\u0924\u0940<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u091a\u093e\u0901\u0926\u0940 \u091c\u0948\u0938\u0940 \u0930\u0947\u0924 \u0926\u092e\u0915\u0924\u0940<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092e\u0948\u0902 \u092d\u0940 \u0909\u091c\u094d\u091c\u0935\u0932 \u092d\u093e\u0917\u094d\u092f \u0928\u093f\u0916\u093e\u0930\u0947<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u092c\u0948\u0920\u093e \u0939\u0942\u0901 \u0907\u0938 \u0915\u0947\u0928 \u0915\u093f\u0928\u093e\u0930\u0947!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Kedarnath Agarwal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a pause of more than 2 months, the tribal people of Bundelkhand, primarily the Gond and Kol communities, have restarted their protest against the controversial Ken-Betwa Link Project. In April 2026, hundreds of Tribals, many of them women started a symbolic protest in Chattarpur and Panna districts of Bundelkhand where they lay on a mock funeral pyre, the message was clear, displacement is a fate worse than death, along with Chita Andolan, there was Akash Andolan, in which people did fast, Mitti Andolan, in which the tribals smeared soil on their bodies and the Jal Andolan, where the tribals stood in the Ken river with symbolic ropes around their neck. The protest, which was led by Jai Kisan Sangathan, was suspended in April itself after officials promised to address the grievances of affected people, has now restarted. Leader of Jai Kisan Sangathan, Amit Bhatnagar, said, “After the April 2026 ‘Chita Andolan’ was suspended on official assurances, the government’s only response was to manufacture false charges against movement leaders, and we were put behind bars. Once we received bail, more false cases were filed against more than 250 people.” Bhatnagar also said that no gram sabhas were held in the project-affected villages, in blatant violation of laws. Tribal communities were not asked for their consent, and no social impact assessment reports were placed before the public. But before concluding anything, first we have to understand what the Ken-Betwa Link Project is and why it is \u201cThe Pyre of Bundelkhand\u201d. In 1980, the then government formulated a National Perspective Plan for interlinking rivers to transfer water from surplus areas to water- deficit regions. The National Water Development Agency was formed in 1982 and was entrusted with the work\u2013 it identified 30 link projects, and the Ken- Betwa Link Project is the only project under the plan whose implementation has started. The project was cleared by the Union Cabinet in December 2021 with an estimated cost of Rs. 44,605 crore. Bundelkhand is a drought-prone region in Central India comprising 7 districts in Madhya Pradesh and 7 in Uttar Pradesh. Ken and Betwa are two important rivers of Bundelkhand supporting the livelihoods of millions of farmers. The main aim of KBLP is to transfer \u2018surplus\u2019 water from the Ken Basin to the water-scarce Betwa Basin. The starting point of the project is the construction of the Daudhan Dam on the Ken River and a 221-kilometre-long canal to carry water from the Ken to the Betwa; however, this project has severe environmental and human impacts. Due to the construction of Daudhan Dam, 22 villages will be displaced, 10 will be submerged, affecting over 7000 families in Panna and Chattarpur districts. The total area that will be submerged spans 9000 ha, including over 4141 ha of the core area of Panna Tiger Reserve and 1314 ha of the buffer zone of the sanctuary, which saved tigers from local extinction. The protestors, primarily belonging to Kol and Gond communities, have been anchored to the Ken and the forest for a long time, so they have demanded \u201cvillage for village\u201d and \u201cland for land\u201d. Amit Bhatnagar, leader of Jai Kisan Sangathan, has said that there is a lack of transparency in informing the villagers about the project and compensation and the consent of Gram Sabha, which is a requirement as per law, was not procured in a transparent manner, and many villagers were not even aware that a Gram Sabha was held. The Forest Rights Act of 2006 recognises the rights of indigenous people to land and forest resources and mandates specific procedures for any displacement or resettlement. The tribals have said that the law is not being followed by the officials. In Kamlesh Prajapati v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2024), the MP High Court ruled on the Orchha Wildlife Sanctuary and called into question the concept of \u2018voluntary rehabilitation\u2019 in the context of wildlife conservation. The court said that valid consent is based on an equality relationship, coerced or deceitful consent is invalid, and displacement without full compliance with the FRA is unacceptable. There are also allegations of corruption in the disbursement of compensation; many tribals have not received compensation, or some tribals were provided with as low an amount as Rs. 16. Tribals are not demanding something out of the picture; they just want the laws to be followed properly and their rights to be provided to them. The environmental cost of the Ken Betwa Link Project also poses a larger question: Does the Government care about the environment? According to the Government\u2019s own estimates, around 17,101 trees were identified for felling; out of these 12, 404 trees have been felled within the reserve for the construction of Daudhan Dam. Renowned conservationist M.K. Ranjitsinh resigned from the MP Wildlife Board, stating, \u201cYou can have either the interlinking project or the Panna Tiger Reserve; you cannot have both\u201d and I think the government has chosen the interlinking project. A Committee constituted by the Supreme Court to examine the wildlife clearance of the project with regard to the projected impact on the Panna Tiger Reserve and the ecosystem raised questions on the clearance and highlighted the large-scale felling of trees and the impact on wildlife and the ecosystem in its report in 2019. It also raised doubts about the viability of the project. According to estimations, the project will provide drinking water to around 6.2 million people and irrigate 1.062 million hectares, but there is another big question in the picture: Does Ken really have surplus water? Various environmentalists and researchers have said that the Ken does not have surplus water, and also, Betwa became water-deficient because of the dams that were built on it. When there were no dams on Betwa, historical cities like Orchha flourished and expanded; Betwa simply is not able to cater for those dams. The water flow estimates of Ken are 30-40 years old, so it does not consider the impacts of climate change. The government also has refused to release this data. Villagers who live near the Ken river basin are facing a water crisis in summers raising doubts about the surplus claim, and sand mining has also aggravated water scarcity. The better option to solve the water crisis of Bundelkhand is to restore its around 1 lakh natural water bodies, conserving the community resources, restoring historical water bodies and enhancing the groundwater level through traditional techniques. A 2020 report by the Atal Bihari Institute of Good Governance and Policy shows that the Chandela and Bundela dynasties built thousands of tanks and ponds between the 9th and 14th centuries. Tikamgarh district has nearly 900 of these alone. There are various successful examples in Bundelkhand where the restoration of old water bodies resulted in better crop yields and solved the problem of water in various areas. This solution is more effective, more sustainable and definitely more viable ( saving around Rs. 44,605 crore of the government). Development projects must not compromise with humans and the environment. In a world which is being severely affected by climate change, sustainable development is no longer an option; it is a necessity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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