Ken Betwa River-Interlinking Project - Kotha Barrage Project Update

The Betwa basin is one among the six major river basins of Madhya Pradesh. The river Betwa which is also called river Vetrawati in Sanskrit and is an interstate river flowing between MP and UP. The river basin is a part of Yamuna basin which ultimately forms part of Ganga basin. The river flows about 216 km in MP , makes common boundary there afterwards in 98 kms and then it runs for about 261 kms in UP before finally joining river Yamuna. The river Betwa covers areas of Sehore, Bhopal, Raisen, Vidisha, Guna, Shivipuri and Datia district of MP. Out of these for the districts of Bhopal, Raisen and Vidisha the river by all means acts as a main lifeline for all the activities related to irrigation, domestic water supply, industrial water needs, nistar and other minor activities.
Fast industrial development , outbreak of population due to formation of capital and setting up of industrial hub in Mandideep and other places and promotion of high intensity, high yielding crops, in the agricultural sector has resulted in multifold increase in water demand as compared to other part of the basin and in comparison of other river basins.
This growing need of water has to be satisfied within the constraints of limited surface water and ground water availability in the upper Betwa basin.
Considering this facts in to consideration it is proposed to construct a high barrage on the junction of river betwa and Keotan just U/S of confluence of river Bina with Betwa. About 63.51 Mcum of is proposed to be stored within the banks of river Betwa and Keoten by constructing a Barrage of about 16.50 m. height. The command on left and right bank to a magnitude of 10,000 and 10,000 Ha would be provided irrigation by lifting water and than providing micro irrigation down to 0.60 Ha. to 1.20 Ha. Through a pressurized irrigation system and by way of sprinkler irrigation system. The project will further utilize the consumptive use of regenerated water from the u/s irrigation projects to a tune of about 20 Mcum by arresting the post monsoon flow of river Betwa and Keotan and regenerated water at a rate of 10% from the irrigation being done by already built up reservoir of about 900 Mcum on u/s of proposed Kotha barrage.