Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi on Tuesday reached on consensus over the long-pending "Kishau" multipurpose dam project for the rejuvenation of the Yamuna river with decision to sign a pact and that 90 per cent cost of water component of the project to be borne by the Central government and the remaining by these states.

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All the states agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the "Kishau" hydroelectric and water storage project on the Tons River, a tributary of the Yamuna, straddling the border between Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh.

Following the signing of the MoU, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the project will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval.

Consensus Reached in High-Level Meeting

The consensus was reached among the concerned states on the long-pending "Kishau" project at an important meeting held in the national capital under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The meeting was attended by Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal, Union Minister of Jal Shakti CR Patil, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami, Union Home Secretary, Union Water Resources Secretary, Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Chief Secretaries of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and senior officials from the MHA, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MHA said, the Central government has been translating the principle of 'Solutions Through Dialogue' into action by building consensus on important issues of national and public interest that had remained unresolved for many years.

Cost-Sharing and Project Impact

"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 financial burden will be shared by the six participating states," said the MHA in a statement.

"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."

It further mentioned that the decision would 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, situated 45 kilometres upstream of Dakpathar town in Uttarakhand, envisages the construction of a 236 metre high concrete dam, thus creating an installed capacity of 4 x 150 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric power and a live storage of 1324 million cubic meters (cum) (1.077 million acre-feet (MAF)).

The total cost of the project in 1998 was Rs 3566.23 lakhs. (ANI)