The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the construction of the Kishau multipurpose project on September 15 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The agreement marks a major step towards interstate cooperation and better utilisation of water resources in the upper Yamuna basin.

The six states and the Centre signed 28 MoAs. Two project-specific agreements for the Renuka ji and Lakhwar multipurpose projects have already been signed. Both projects are under construction. The Kishau MoA is the third construction agreement involving the six states.

Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, the Secretary of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and the chief secretaries of the six states also attended the meeting. The meeting lasted around an hour.

Officials described the agreement as a historic milestone that reflects the spirit of cooperative federalism and the collective commitment of the Centre and basin states to the sustainable development and optimal utilisation of the Yamuna basin’s water resources.

The Kishau project will come up on the Tons River, a major tributary of the Yamuna. The proposed site lies in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun district and Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district. The project includes a 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam with a live storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres.

The project will provide irrigation to around 97,000 hectares of agricultural land and generate nearly 1,476 million units of electricity every year. Its stored water will also support the rejuvenation of the Yamuna and meet drinking and industrial water needs, particularly in Rajasthan and Delhi. The Kishau Corporation Limited, a joint venture between the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments, will implement the project.

The six upper Yamuna basin states had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 1994 to share the utilisable surface water of the Yamuna up to the Okhla Barrage. The agreement recognised the need for storage projects in the upper basin to improve water utilisation. It also required separate agreements for each identified storage project within the agreed water allocation framework.

The latest MoA comes nearly three months after a June 16 meeting chaired by Amit Shah, where the six states reached consensus on the Kishau multipurpose dam for the rejuvenation of the Yamuna. They had then agreed to sign an MoU for its implementation.

Following the latest agreement, the Kishau project will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval. The Centre will provide 90 per cent of the water component’s cost as assistance, while the six states share the remaining 10 per cent.

The states also agreed to transfer Himachal Pradesh’s share of water to Delhi and Rajasthan. In return, Delhi and Rajasthan will share the cost of Himachal Pradesh’s share of the power component. The arrangement is expected to support higher clean-water flow in the Yamuna while addressing irrigation, power and drinking water requirements across the participating states.