New Delhi [India], September 15 (ANI): In a significant milestone for inter-state cooperation and development of water resources in the upper Yamuna basin, chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the construction of the Kishau multipurpose project on Tuesday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Nearly 28 MoAs were signed among the six states and the Centre. Two project-specific agreements on Renuka ji and Lakhwar multipurpose projects have already been executed, and these projects are under construction. The agreement on the Kishau multipurpose project is the third project on which an agreement for construction has been entered into between the six states.
Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Secretary of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and the chief secretaries of the participating states were also present in the meeting, which lasted for around an hour.
Officials said the signing of the historic agreement marks an important step towards the realization of the long-pending Kishau multipurpose project and reflects the spirit of cooperative federalism and collective commitment of the Centre and the basin states for sustainable development and optimal utilization of the water resources of the Yamuna basin.
The Kishau multipurpose project is proposed on the River Tons, a major tributary of the Yamuna River in Uttarakhand's Dehradun district and Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district. The project envisages the construction of a 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam with a live storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres (MCM). It also envisages irrigation benefits to approximately 0.97 lakh hectares of agricultural area with an annual energy generation of approximately 1,476 million units.
The stored water will also contribute to the rejuvenation of the Yamuna and to meeting drinking and industrial water requirements, particularly in Rajasthan and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, thereby strengthening water security in the region.
The project shall be implemented by Kishau Corporation Limited, a joint venture of the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments.
The Upper Yamuna basin states had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 12, 1994 for the sharing of the utilisable surface water of the Yamuna up to Okhla Barrage. The MoU recognized the need for the creation of storage projects in the Upper Yamuna Basin to maximise utilisation of the surface flows of the river Yamuna. As provided under Para 7(iii) of the 1994 MoU, separate agreements were to be executed for each identified storage project within the overall framework of the water allocation agreed upon by the basin states.
The MoA was signed nearly three months after a similar meeting was organised on June 16 in the MHA under the chairmanship of the Union Home Minister, and a consensus was then reached among the concerned states on the long-pending Kishau multipurpose dam project for the rejuvenation of the Yamuna River.
Following the initiative of the Union Home Minister, the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan on June 16 agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the Kishau multipurpose project.
With the MoA signed, the project will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval.
The meeting decided that 90 per cent of the cost of the water component of the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project will be borne by the Central government as Central assistance, while the remaining 10 per cent of the financial burden will be shared by the six participating states.
The meeting also reached a consensus to allocate Himachal Pradesh’s share of water to Delhi and Rajasthan in return for sharing the cost of Himachal Pradesh’s portion of the power component. This decision will prove to be a significant milestone in the journey towards a cleaner and rejuvenated Yamuna, ensuring an increased flow of clean water in the river.
The Kishau dam project is an under-construction multipurpose water storage and hydroelectric project located on the Tons River, a major tributary of the Yamuna River. The water stored in the Kishau reservoir shall be utilized for irrigation, power generation and to augment drinking water supply. (ANI)
Kishau Project: UP, Uttarakhand, HP, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana CMs sign MoA in presence of Amit Shah
