Amit Shah chairs key meeting on Kishau Dam with CMs of six states

Chief Ministers of UP, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh arrived in Delhi for a meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on the Kishau Dam Project. The meeting includes six states and aims to finalise the project to rejuvenate the Yamuna river.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu arrived in New Delhi to participate in the meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.

The meeting with the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi is on the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project. The meeting is scheduled to be held in hybrid mode at the Ministry of Home Affairs' office in the national capital.

Most of the chief ministers are likely to physically attend the meeting along with chief secretaries of the six states as well as officials concerned in the presence of MHA officials, including Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. The meeting will also be attended by Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal, Union Minister of Jal Shakti CR Patil, the Union Water Resources Secretary, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Project Background and Previous Agreements

The meeting is being held 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. It is learnt that the project will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval soon.

Financial Framework and Cost Sharing

The meeting then 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 then 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.

About the Kishau Dam Project

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 utilised for irrigation, power generation, and to augment the drinking water supply. (ANI)

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