Centre Reviews Rehabilitation Measures for Tribal Families Affected by Ken-Betwa Link Project
By Suman Munshi
Chief Editor, IBG NEWS
New Delhi, August 6: The Union Government has stated that rehabilitation and resettlement of families affected by the Ken-Betwa Link Project are being implemented by the respective State Governments, while the Centre continues to monitor the progress of rehabilitation plans through institutional oversight mechanisms.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey said the Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority, functioning under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, has informed that land acquisition and rehabilitation activities are being carried out by the concerned State Governments.
The Minister said the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is a member of both the Steering Committee and the Monitoring Committee of the project. These committees regularly review the implementation of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Action Plan for Project Affected Families (PAFs), with particular focus on Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries.
According to the rehabilitation proposal submitted by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) in 2016 for Phase-I of the project, a total of 1,913 Project Affected Families, comprising approximately 8,339 people, are expected to be displaced. Among them, 648 families belong to the Scheduled Tribes, making tribal rehabilitation a significant component of the project’s social impact mitigation measures.
The Ministry informed Parliament that it has not received any specific complaints alleging that compensation shown as disbursed had failed to reach beneficiaries. However, it has received representations concerning displacement linked to the Ken-Betwa Link Project. Since the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act) falls under the jurisdiction of State Governments and Union Territory Administrations, these representations have been forwarded to the Government of Madhya Pradesh and the concerned district authorities for examination and appropriate action.
The Centre also clarified that detailed records relating to implementation of the Forest Rights Act are not maintained centrally, as responsibility for enforcing the legislation rests with the States and Union Territories.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has granted Stage-II forest clearance for two components of the Ken-Betwa Link Project in Madhya Pradesh. These approvals require the State Government to implement the approved Rehabilitation and Resettlement Plan in accordance with both State and National R&R policies before project work begins.
The approvals further stipulate that all provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 must be fully complied with before any forest land is transferred to the project authority. Compliance with these conditions is monitored by the State Government as well as the Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The Minister also referred to the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, under which diversion, leasing or de-notification of forest land can take place only after final approval from the Central Government and after fulfilling all statutory requirements under applicable environmental and forest laws, including settlement of rights under the Forest Rights Act.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has also advised all State Governments and Union Territory Administrations to ensure that no eligible tribal or traditional forest dweller is deprived of legally recognised forest rights. It reiterated that, under Section 4(5) of the Forest Rights Act, no claimant can be evicted from forest land under occupation until the process of recognition and verification of rights has been completed.
The Centre reiterated that all matters relating to rehabilitation, compensation, enhancement of compensation, rehabilitation timelines and implementation of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement package remain the responsibility of the respective State Governments and project authorities overseeing the Ken-Betwa Link Project.
