Earlier on Monday, Rajasthan and Haryana signed a fresh agreement on the Yamuna water project in New Delhi in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah. The details of the agreement have not yet been made public.
Under the agreement, the two states have also agreed to jointly develop the infrastructure required to transport the allocated water. The project envisages the construction of an approximately 295-km underground pipeline from Hathnikund in Haryana to Rajasthan at an estimated cost of Rs 3,900 crore.
Both governments will coordinate on land acquisition, construction, project monitoring and the pipeline’s subsequent operation. Instead of setting up a joint board as initially proposed, Rajasthan and Haryana have decided to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to oversee the project’s construction, operation and maintenance.
Rajasthan will, for now, bear the entire cost of the project, although the state will seek financial support from the Centre. The government also expects that Rajasthan’s future share of water from the Kishau, Lakhwar and Renukaji dam projects in the Upper Yamuna Basin could be conveyed through the same pipeline network.
With PTI inputs
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