Enough Water For Everyone In Country, Says Minister Gadkari As Six States Come Together For Renukaji Dam Project

An agreement for construction of Renukaji multipurpose dam project has been signed between six states - Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in presence of Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari today (11 January), The Tribune has reported.

The agreement for the project was signed by Chief Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Jai Ram Thakur, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Arvind Kejriwal, Ashok Gehlot and Yogi Adityanath.

"There is enough water available in the country but the real issue is effective water management," said Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari during the signing of the agreement.

According to the report, three projects are proposed to be constructed on the Yamuna and two of its tributaries, Tons and Giri in hilly areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These include the Lakhwar project on Yamuna in Uttarakhand, Kisau on Tons river in Uttarakhand and Himachal, and Renukaji on Giri river in Himachal.

An agreement has already been signed in August 2018 between the states over sharing of costs and benefits of Lakhwar project. Gadkari said an agreement among the concerned states for the Kisau project would be reached soon.

Renukaji dam project has been planned as a storage project on Giri river, a tributary of Yamuna, in Himachal’s Sirmaur district. The project includes building of a 148 metre-high rock-filled dam to supply 23 cusecs of water to Delhi and other states. It will also generate 40 MW of power during peak flow and is proposed to be executed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL).