Residents of several villages, mostly tribals, who are allegedly being impacted by the Ken-Betwa river linking project, have restarted their agitation in Chhatarpur district over their demands of better compensation and rehabilitation, after their talks with officials failed to reach a conclusion. 

Several protestors, most of them women, have launched a symbolic protest by placing a hanging noose around their necks which has now reached its fifth day on the banks of the Barana River near Kupi village. 

Earlier in April, protestors had demonstrated for days by lying on symbolic pyres over water, which had gained national attention. The protested had been suspended due to discussions being held with officials from Chhatarpur and Panna districts.

The protestors have alleged an inadequate rehabilitation package, and several villagers have also been left out of the rehabilitation plan of the Ken-Betwa project and the Majhgaon and Runjh irrigation projects. They have demanded that their rehabilitation package be increased from ₹12.5 lakh to ₹25 lakhs. 

Chhatarpur Collector Parth Jaiswal, however, told The Hindu that the people protesting “are not being impacted by the Ken-Betwa project”. 

“There are about 100 people protesting now and all of them are from Panna. None of them are impacted by Ken-Betwa but by the other two irrigation projects. They are demanding that their rehabilitation package should be like the Ken-Betwa. We have sent teams of officials from both districts to talk to them,” he said. 

Mr. Jaiswal said that after the April protest, a fresh survey was conducted and about 750 families were added to the rehabilitation plan of Majhgaon and Runjh projects. 

“The State Cabinet this week has also passed a resolution to increase the amount of the rehabilitation package [for Majhgaon and Runjh projects] by about ₹300 crore. Their compensation has been increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹12.5 lakh. We have communicated these measures to them and are asking the protestors to raise their voices with Panna administration,” he said. 

Mr. Jaiswal also said that the villagers are “being misled” by some local activists who are using the site of Ken-Betwa project for the protests. “The demands that are being raised now are not valid,” he added.

Flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25, 2024, the the Ken-Betwa link project (KBLP) is the first of 30 such link projects under a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for water resources development and interlinking of rivers with ‘surplus water’ to those with ‘deficit water’. The KBLP plans to transfer excess water from the Ken river basin to the Betwa river basin in the Bundelkhand region that covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

However, residents of several villages in Chhatarpur and Panna districts have long been protesting the project over fears of displacement and demanding better rehabilitation and improved compensation. Various environmentalists, including Former Union Environment Minister and Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, have also expressed concerns over its potential impact on environment, local ecology and wildlife as a large part of the project falls inside the Panna National Park and Tiger Reserve.