The submitted report — not yet public — warns of the dangers to the ecology and animal life due to the proposed Ken-Betwa project. However, it will also inundate about 400 of the 4300-hectare Panna Tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The Environment Ministry’s go-ahead will enable the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), a Water Resources Ministry body, to begin work on the project. There are still discussions underway on whether the height of the proposed dam along the canal can be reduced to limit the extent of tiger reserve inundation. Given the threat to the tiger reserve, the Environment Ministry, whose clearance is mandatory for the project, tasked the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) with an expert analysis on the environmental impact.

Source: The Hindu May 16, 2016 15:52 UTC