{"id":124671,"date":"2026-09-16T11:19:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=124671"},"modified":"2026-09-16T11:19:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:49:49","slug":"kishau-multipurpose-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/kishau-multipurpose-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Kishau Multipurpose Project: Six States Sign MoU for Yamuna Storage Dam"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Kishau Multipurpose Project Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Recently, the chief ministers of six states signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in New Delhi to pave the way for the long-pending Kishau Multipurpose Project.<\/li>\n<li>The Rs 15,000-crore project has been stalled for eight years over cost-sharing disputes. The project will now go before the Union Cabinet for approval.<\/li>\n<li>The signatories were Himachal Pradesh CM, Uttarakhand CM, Uttar Pradesh CM, Haryana CM, Rajasthan CM and Delhi CM.<\/li>\n<li>The agreement follows a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister where the six states agreed in principle to move ahead.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What the Project Is<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Kishau Multipurpose Project is a proposed dam and hydropower project on the <\/span><b>Tons River<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a major tributary of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/yamuna-river-system\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Yamuna.<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Key features<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Location<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: along the Himachal Pradesh\u2013Uttarakhand border, straddling Sirmaur district (HP) and Dehradun district (Uttarakhand)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Dam:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Power:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 422 MW capacity, generating 1,476 million units of clean hydropower<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Irrigation potential<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: about 97,076 hectares<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Water supply<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: drinking and industrial water to Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Storage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: capacity of 1,786 million cubic metres (MCM), with live storage of about 1,324 MCM<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why the Dam Was Needed<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kishau is <\/span><b>one of three storage projects<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> planned in the upper reaches of the Yamuna and its tributaries under an MoU signed in May 1994 by the Yamuna basin states: undivided Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and the NCT of Delhi.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other two, <\/span><b>Lakhwar and Renukaji<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, already have MoUs signed and are under implementation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These projects were required because there are no storage facilities on the Upper Yamuna, from its source at the Yamunotri glacier to the Okhla barrage in Delhi, a catchment of about 30,000 square kilometres.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Yamuna Water Allocation under the 1994 MoU<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the 11.983 billion cubic metres (BCM) of annual utilisable Yamuna water:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haryana: 5.730 BCM<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uttar Pradesh: 4.032 BCM<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajasthan: 1.119 BCM<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delhi: 0.724 BCM<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Himachal Pradesh: 0.378 BCM<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Uttarakhand was carved out in 2000, undivided UP&#8217;s 4.032 BCM was split as 3.721 BCM for UP and 0.311 BCM for Uttarakhand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why the MoU Was Delayed for Eight Years<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Himachal Pradesh held out on two grounds:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Cost burden:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Under an earlier arrangement, the previous state government agreed to contribute about Rs 800 crore, mainly for the power component. The current government rejected this as against Himachal&#8217;s financial interest.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Disproportionate benefits:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Himachal argued it should not invest heavily in a project whose water benefits would flow largely to downstream states like Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, while it bore the burden of submergence and displacement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 2020 feasibility study estimated that about 2,950 hectares would be submerged, affecting 17 villages and around 5,500 people across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How the Breakthrough Was Achieved<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In June 2026, the Centre announced it would bear 90 per cent of the project&#8217;s water component cost, with the six states sharing the remaining 10 per cent.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A special mechanism was devised for Himachal Pradesh:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Himachal&#8217;s allocated water share will be transferred to Delhi and Rajasthan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In return, Delhi and Rajasthan will bear Himachal&#8217;s share of the power component cost in a 75:25 ratio.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Himachal, which does not currently need the power, will receive payment for supplying electricity to neighbouring states.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Water Benefits to States<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Storage allocation (MCM):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Haryana 633, Uttar Pradesh 411, Rajasthan 124, Delhi 80, Uttarakhand 34, with a share for Himachal that is now being transferred.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Flow benefits (cusecs):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Haryana 836, Uttar Pradesh 543.2, Rajasthan 163.52, Delhi 105.28.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Significance for the Yamuna<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key objective is to augment Yamuna flows through regulated storage and release from the Kishau reservoir.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Centre and the states have linked the project to the <\/span><b>wider goal of Yamuna rejuvenation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, expecting the additional flow to improve the availability of cleaner water in the river alongside irrigation, drinking water and power benefits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Kishau MoU resolves a decade-old federal deadlock through generous central funding and an innovative cost-benefit swap for Himachal Pradesh.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It marks a significant step towards Upper Yamuna storage, water security for northern states and Yamuna rejuvenation. Implementation must now address submergence, displacement and rehabilitation with equal seriousness.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/kishau-multipurpose-project-mou-cost-water-benefits-10879204\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatvnews.com\/news\/india\/kishau-project-agreement-signed-how-the-long-delayed-rs-15-000-crore-dam-will-benefit-6-states-2026-09-15-1054290\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ITV<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneycontrol.com\/news\/india\/kishau-project-explained-why-the-long-delayed-dam-on-the-yamuna-tributary-matters-to-six-states-14030207.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kishau Multipurpose Project gets a major push as six states sign an MoU, resolving cost-sharing issues and advancing Upper Yamuna storage and water security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":124698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[10274,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-124671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-kishau-multipurpose-project","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124671"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124706,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124671\/revisions\/124706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}