• Source:JND
HighLights
  1. Six states sign Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement for Yamuna.
  2. Centre to bear 90% financial burden of Rs 15,000 crore.
  3. Project ensures clean Yamuna, water, and hydropower for region.

Kishau Dam Project: In a breakthrough in the ambitious hydro project linked to the Yamuna basin in six states, the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami, Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan Bhajan Lal Sharma, Delhi Rekha Gupta, and Haryana Shri Nayab Singh Saini signed the Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil on Tuesday.

The Government of India will bear approximately 90 per cent of its financial burden, while the remaining 10 per cent will be borne by the participating states in accordance with the 1994 agreement.

Addressing the meeting, said that today we have witnessed a historic agreement. He expressed confidence that once the project is completed, this event will become an important chapter in history. He said that the agreement reached today will benefit Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi in one way or another.

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Shah said that the most important aspect is that all six states have given their consent and signed the agreement. He said that the Government of India and the Chief Ministers of these six states of the Yamuna basin are committed to completing the project at the earliest.

What Is Kishau Multipurpose Project?

The 660 MW Kishau multipurpose project is an ambitious hydro project, which will benefit six states. The development paves the way for the construction of the project, proposed to be built on the Tons River along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border at an estimated cost of around Rs 15,000 croreA 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam will be constructed on the Tons River, which flows along the border of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, with a water storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres.

ALSO READ: Centre Fast-Tracks 3 Yamuna Dam Projects To Solve Delhi's Water Crisis For Next 25 Years

Union Home Minister said that when the waters of the Yamuna were allocated, there was a serious lapse on the part of policymakers. The environmental flow of the Yamuna was not calculated at all, and all the available water was distributed among the states. No water was left for the river itself.

Why Is The Agreement Among Six States Crucial?

The agreement is the result of meticulous consultation by the Ministry of Jal Shakti with the states. The ministry took the matter forward and after securing the consent of all the states. The Kishau Multipurpose Project will safeguard the interests of all the states in terms of the technical and economic aspects. Aiming to resolve disputes among states, the Centre had declared the Kishau Multipurpose Project a National Project. The project will enable us to clean the Yamuna at the earliest and provide crores of people with water for drinking, agriculture, development and industrial use. It will irrigate 97,000 hectares of land and generate 1,476 million units of clean hydropower.

25 Per Cent Of Water Will Remain In Yamuna

He said that 25 per cent of the water will become available through the Kishau Multipurpose Project Agreement, which will prove extremely beneficial for both Delhi and the Yamuna. It will also contribute to environmental conservation. Hence, Delhi will be the biggest beneficiary of the project. The government expressed confidence that we will be able to achieve the goal of a clean Yamuna by 2029. When the Yamuna becomes clean, the Ganga also becomes clean, because ultimately the Yamuna merges with the Ganga at Prayagraj. Shah said that until the dream of cleaning the Yamuna is fulfilled, the dream of a clean Ganga will also remain incomplete.


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