Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, released the final report of the Integrated Landscape Management Plan for Greater Panna Landscape today in the presence of officers from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and other concerned organizations.
Wildlife Institute of India prepared this integrated landscape management plan for the Ken-Betwa Link Project. The project team, led by Dr. K. Ramesh, Scientist, WII, conducted extensive fieldwork using advanced scientific tools and techniques, analyzed the data, and developed detailed site-specific inputs for the proposed activities.
Integrated Landscape Management Plan calls for improved habitat protection and management of key species like tigers, vultures, and gharials. It will aid in the holistic consolidation of the landscape for biodiversity conservation and human well-being, particularly among forest-dependent communities.
It is expected to increase tiger carrying capacity in the landscape by improving connectivity with Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary, Durgavati wildlife sanctuary, and Ranipur wildlife sanctuary in MP and Ranipur wildlife sanctuary in UP.
This integrated landscape management plan has been prepared in relation to the Ken-Betwa Link Project, which has been approved by the Government of India for implementation in December 2021, following the signing of a historic agreement on March 22, 2021 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
This is the country's first major centrally driven river interlinking project. This agreement marks the start of inter-state cooperation to carry out former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision of transporting water from surplus areas to drought-prone and water deficit areas via river interlinking.
The project will be extremely beneficial to the water-stressed Bundelkhand region, which spans the states of MP and UP. This project will benefit the Madhya Pradesh districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri, and Raisen, as well as the Uttar Pradesh districts of Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi, and Lalitpur.
