DPR for Ken-Betwa link to be completed this year

New Delhi, Jul 10 (UNI) The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Ken-Betwa link is likely to be completed by the end of 2008 while an MOU will soon be signed for preparation of DPRs for two more links, Minister for Water Resources Prof Saifuddion Soz announced today.

Presiding over the 24th Annual General Meeting of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), the organisation which has the responsibility of studying the river-linking task in the country here, Prof Soz said that an MOU for preparation of DPRs for the Par-Tapi-Narmada and Damanganga-Pinjal links would be signed soon.

He also expressed about reaching a consensus on an MOU for the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link.

The Ken-Betwa project was originally estimated to cost Rs 4,263 crore including the cost of building a dam and a 231-km link canal.

The project is expected to be completed in eight years.

Prof Soz said the government was committed to removing the anomaly of regional imbalance in the availability of water in the country to the greatest extent possible and expand the irrigation potential at an accelerated rate to make India self sufficient in food grain production in the coming years.

Minister of State for Water Resources Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav, who was also present at the meeting, said that 13 states/ Union Territories had responded to to the NWDA studies of intra-state river linking proposals.

He also outlined a consensus building process for moving forward on interlinking of rivers programme as per the National Common Minimum Programme of the UPA Government.

Those who took part in the meeting included Irrigation Ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu besides top officials of the Water Resources Ministry.

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