Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to ensure that the Ken-Betwa river linking project did not get approval in its present form, as it will “irretrievably damage” the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
“Over the past decade, Panna has been revived with great difficulty thanks to the dedicated efforts of the State government and the National Tiger Conservation Authority that is under your Ministry. It is considered an outstanding example of translocation and successful breeding. It is now threatened by the river linking project and the State government’s open estimate is that around 40% of the area of the PTR will be irretrievably damaged,” Ms. Gandhi said in her letter dated April 3, released by the Congress on Friday.
“Around 18 lakh trees — a most valuable carbon sink — will be removed from the submergence area. Apart from this, serious questions have been raised on the basic issue of water availability itself for the proposed transfer. I request you, as the Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, to ensure that this project in its present shape and form does NOT get implemented,” she added.
The Congress chief also cautioned the government against rushing through any proposal as the issue had been legally challenged in the National Green Tribunal as well as the Supreme Court.
