The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, along with the Union Jal Shakti Minister, witnessed the signing of an agreement on the Kishau Multipurpose Project. Chief Ministers from six states—Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana—put their signatures to this accord. The project aims to manage water resources in the Yamuna basin, a region that has seen water-sharing disputes for decades.
What the Kishau Project Will Do
A concrete gravity dam 232.6 metres high will be built on the Tons River, which runs along the border between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The dam will hold 1,562 million cubic metres of water.
The project will serve multiple purposes:
- Irrigate 97,000 hectares of land across the participating states
- Generate 1,476 million units of hydroelectric power
- Release water that will benefit the Yamuna river and Delhi
The Government of India will pay for approximately 90 per cent of the project’s cost. The remaining 10 per cent will be shared among the six states according to an agreement made in 1994.
This is the tenth water dispute to be resolved since 2018. Earlier agreements included settlements over the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project, the Renukaji Multipurpose Dam Project, and the Ken-Betwa Link Project, among others.
What This Means for You
If you live in Delhi, this project will bring the most immediate benefit. Twenty-five per cent of additional water will flow to Delhi through the Yamuna, which officials say will help clean the river and secure more reliable water supplies for drinking and agriculture. Citizens in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will gain irrigation access and hydroelectric power generation. The broader consequence is that a long-standing water dispute affecting crores of people across six states has been resolved through agreement rather than litigation.