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Panna, Madhya Pradesh: The arrest of social activist Amit Bhatnagar late on May 7 has pushed the ongoing protests around the Ken-Betwa river-linking project into a new phase of confrontation, with villagers and activists alleging an attempt to suppress a growing grassroots movement.
Bhatnagar was detained by Panna police just hours before the proposed “Nyay Adhikar Padyatra” organised under the banner of Jai Kisan Sangathan. The march was meant to highlight demands from farmers and tribal communities affected by the Ken-Betwa Link Project, including rehabilitation, fair compensation and water rights. Activists associated with the campaign alleged that police acted during the night specifically to prevent the mobilisation from expanding further.
A long-time activist from Bundelkhand, Bhatnagar has consistently questioned both the environmental impact and human cost of the project. Over the past several months, he has emerged as one of the key public faces of protests demanding transparent land surveys, lawful Gram Sabha consent procedures and improved compensation for displaced families.
In a Facebook post published shortly after his arrest, Bhatnagar said he had been detained from Kupiya by the Bijawar police station in charge and was being taken to Panna. “Lock me in jail, hang me if you want, but do not let the movement weaken,” he wrote, adding that he was prepared to go to prison “to protect water, forests, land, the lives of thousands of people, the Constitution and democracy.” He said village-level struggle committees and local leaders, including Ward No. 9 councillor Divya Ahirwar, would continue leading the movement in his absence.
The arrest triggered fresh anger across villages expected to be submerged under the project. Residents in affected areas said the protests would continue and could intensify further in the coming days.
A Project at the Centre of a Wider Conflict
The Ken-Betwa Link Project, India’s first interlinking-of-rivers project, aims to transfer water from the Ken river to the Betwa river to address chronic water shortages in the Bundelkhand region. Its first phase includes the construction of the Daudhan dam inside the Panna Tiger Reserve.
Once the reservoir reaches its full level of 288 metres, around 9,000 hectares of land are expected to be submerged, including 5,258 hectares of forest land. Ten villages fall directly within the submergence zone.
But opposition to the project is no longer limited to the Daudhan dam alone. Two additional irrigation projects, the Majhgay medium irrigation project and the Runjh river project in Ajaygarh tehsil, have also become flashpoints of resistance. The Majhgay project is expected to affect eight villages and displace 999 out of 1,696 families, while the Runjh project is projected to affect Vishramganj, Bhujbai and parts of Aramganj village.
From Local Protest to Sustained Agitation
The current phase of mobilisation began in early February, when women from Daudhan and Palkoha villages staged demonstrations at the Daudhan dam construction site over alleged irregularities in compensation payments and survey procedures. Bhatnagar publicly backed the protest through Facebook Live broadcasts and on-ground participation.
On February 8, district officials sought one month’s time and promised fresh surveys. But a day later, Bhatnagar was detained under Section 191 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on allegations linked to unlawful assembly.
His detention sparked another round of protests. On February 10, villagers from Daudhan and Palkoha surrounded the Bijawar tehsil office demanding his release. Police used water cannons on a crowd estimated at around 1,000 people, including women carrying small children. Protesters later alleged that police also resorted to lathi-charge.
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After his release on February 12, Bhatnagar submitted a memorandum demanding certified copies of all FIRs and an examination of CCTV footage from the tehsil office and temple premises.
By March, the protests had widened significantly. Thousands of farmers and tribal residents marched from Satna Naka to the Panna collectorate under the Jai Kisan Sangathan banner. Authorities imposed Section 163 of the BNSS during the march, and clashes and lathi-charge incidents were reported. By the end of the protest, officials gave written assurances that land acquisition records, Gram Sabha documents and compensation-related files would be shared within five days. Protest leaders, however, said the movement had only been suspended, not withdrawn.
A subsequent meeting between protesters and officials on March 19 again produced assurances that villagers would soon receive documents linked to Gram Sabha consent procedures.
Timeline of Events
When promised documents allegedly failed to arrive despite repeated communication, Jai Kisan Sangathan announced a march to Delhi on April 5. Protesters claimed they were stopped from proceeding and instead began a sit-in near the Daudhan dam site in Satai tehsil.
The next day, the Chhatarpur administration imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, banning gatherings of more than five people and restricting the entry of people from outside districts.
The protests intensified over the following days. Demonstrators organised symbolic funeral pyre protests, jal satyagrahas in the river waters and symbolic hanging demonstrations. Hunger strikes spread across affected villages in Chhatarpur district.
On April 12, officials from the Water Resources Department, along with SDMs from Panna and Ajaygarh, visited protest sites and assured villagers that complaints would be addressed locally. Three days later, the Chhatarpur collector formed special investigation teams to examine allegations of compensation irregularities and rehabilitation-related disputes in 14 villages.
Despite these interventions, tensions continued to rise. Work at the Runjh dam site remained suspended on April 16 as tribal women and farmers continued protesting, even after officials promised fresh surveys.
In another major development, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet on April 22 approved an increase in the compensation multiplier for rural land acquisition from 1.0 to 2.0, effectively raising compensation for acquired agricultural land from twice the market value to four times the market value across rural projects in the state.
However, villagers in Vishramganj later alleged that no new surveys had begun despite official deadlines. Anger resurfaced by the end of April, and tribal women again occupied construction sites, halting work. During a special Gram Sabha in Vishramganj, villagers unanimously opposed the project and declared the ongoing construction illegal, alleging that mandatory procedures had not been properly followed.
Compensation, Consent and Questions Over Procedure
The protests are centred not only around compensation amounts but also around broader concerns over consent, legality and rehabilitation.
Villagers in Daudhan are demanding compensation of at least Rs 25 lakh per affected family. According to available figures, 363 families have so far received Rs 12.5 lakh each, with total disbursements amounting to Rs 46.5 crore.
Government data cited by protesters shows that under the Majhgay project, Rs 191.86 crore has been distributed among 1,657 landowners, while 660 families received one-time rehabilitation payments of Rs 5 lakh each. Under the Runjh project, Rs 44.23 crore was sanctioned, of which Rs 43.86 crore has reportedly been distributed.
Villagers are also demanding that every adult family member, including daughters, be treated as a separate family unit for compensation purposes. Women participating in the protests have additionally demanded independent rights over compensation payments. Shanti Kondar from Daudhan questioned what would happen to children if husbands spent all the compensation money themselves.
Another major point of contention involves allegations that mandatory Gram Sabha meetings required before the acquisition of tribal land either never took place or were supported using forged documentation. In Vishramganj, villagers convened their own Gram Sabha and unanimously rejected the project while declaring the construction illegal.
Government Response and Unresolved Questions
On May 4, the Madhya Pradesh government announced a state-level committee to address issues linked to displacement, land acquisition and rehabilitation in the Majhgay and Runjh projects. The committee, headed by the commissioner of the Sagar division, was asked to submit its report within five days.
The government maintains that once completed, the projects will provide irrigation to 27,510 hectares of land across 86 villages in the Ajaygarh block and make 39.56 million cubic metres of water available for drinking and industrial use, benefiting around 45,000 farming families.
Protesters, however, argue that the administration has repeatedly issued written assurances without implementing them on the ground. They point to delays in surveys, the non-release of key documents and the resumption of construction work even before complaints were resolved.
Following Bhatnagar’s latest arrest, Jai Kisan Sangathan has called upon women leaders and village-level committees to continue the agitation. Protesters across Panna and Chhatarpur say the movement will continue until their demands are addressed.
For now, work at the Runjh dam site remains suspended, while construction at the Daudhan dam has resumed. Special investigation teams continue their inquiries, and the newly formed state-level committee is expected to submit its findings around May 9.
Yet several critical questions remain unresolved: Were Gram Sabha procedures conducted legally? Does the compensation reflect current land values? And will authorities finally release the documents that affected villagers have been demanding since February?