Kishau Multipurpose Project: The Rs 15,000 Cr Deal That Could Reshape Yamuna Water Sharing

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New Delhi, September 16 (APAC Media): After decades of discussions and years of disagreement over costs and benefits, the long-pending 422 MW Kishau Multipurpose Project has moved a step closer to implementation.

The Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana have signed an agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil.

The agreement is significant because Kishau is not only a hydropower project. It is planned as a major water storage and distribution project for the Yamuna basin, with potential benefits for irrigation, drinking water, industrial use, and clean energy.

What is the Kishau Project?

The Kishau Multipurpose Project is proposed on the Tons River, a major tributary of the Yamuna, along the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border. The project envisages a 232.6-meter-high concrete gravity dam and an installed hydropower capacity of 422 MW. It is expected to generate around 1,476 million units of electricity annually.

The project site covers parts of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district and Uttarakhand’s Dehradun district. Along with power generation, the project is designed to create irrigation potential of approximately 97,076 hectares and supply water to Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Why did the project remain stuck?

Kishau has been under discussion for years. Himachal Pradesh had raised concerns over its financial contribution and whether the state would receive benefits proportionate to the land and resources it would give up.

The concerns were particularly significant because the project would cause substantial land submergence. A 2020 feasibility study estimated that nearly 2,950 hectares of land could be submerged, affecting 17 villages and around 5,500 people across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The financial question was a major sticking point. Under an earlier arrangement, Himachal Pradesh was expected to contribute around Rs 800 crore towards the project. The state later opposed this arrangement, arguing that downstream states would receive a larger share of the water benefits.

What changed in 2026?

A major breakthrough came in June 2026, when the Centre agreed to bear 90% of the project cost, leaving the six beneficiary states to share the remaining 10%.

Under the new arrangement, Himachal Pradesh’s financial share will be borne by Delhi and Rajasthan in a 75:25 ratio, according to a senior state official. This helped address one of Himachal Pradesh’s key objections to the project.

Following the signing of the agreement, the project will now be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval. The Detailed Project Report circulated earlier this year is yet to be finalised.

How will the water be distributed?

The project’s planned storage capacity is about 1,786 million cubic metres (MCM), of which around 1,324 MCM is expected to be actively stored.

According to the state government’s figures, Haryana is expected to receive 633 MCM, Uttar Pradesh 411 MCM, Rajasthan 124 MCM, Delhi 80 MCM, and Uttarakhand 34 MCM for drinking and industrial purposes. The allocation for Himachal Pradesh is also part of the agreement.

The project traces its roots to the 1994 Yamuna basin agreement, under which the basin states agreed on the allocation of the river’s utilisable water. Kishau was one of three proposed storage projects, alongside Lakhwar and Renukaji.

With the agreement now signed, Kishau represents a renewed effort to strengthen water storage in the upper Yamuna basin while adding a significant source of hydropower and irrigation potential. Its next major milestone will be Union Cabinet approval, followed by finalisation of the DPR and implementation arrangements.