Implementation MoU for Rs.3,966.51Cr project

Construction of the Rs.3,966.51 crore Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project in the Upper Yamuna Basin is set to commence with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi on 28 Aug 2018 between the Central Government and northern states.

The Lakhwar project envisages construction of a 204 m high concrete dam across river Yamuna near Lohari village in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of 330.66 MCM.

This storage will provide irrigation for 33,780 hectares land and availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic, drinking and industrial use in the six basin states.

The project will also generate 300 MW of power. The project is to be executed by M/s Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVL).

Out of the total project cost of Rs. 3966.51 crore,

The mega development’s power component cost of Rs.1,388.28 crore will be borne totally by the Uttarakhand government.

Uttarakhand will also get the benefit of total power generation once the project is complete.

The remaining cost of Rs.2,578.23 crore which form the irrigation and drinking water components, 90% will be borne by the Centre (Rs.2,320.41 crore) and 10% will be divided between the States of Haryana – Rs.123.29 crore (47.82%), Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand -Rs. 86.75 crore (33.65%), Rajasthan – Rs.24.08 crore (9.34%), NCT Delhi – Rs.15.58 crore (6.04%) and Himachal Pradesh – Rs.8.13 crore (3.15%).

Storage created as a result of implementation of Lakhwar project will be shared by the basin States in proportion to their overall annual allocations as given in the mother MoU between the six states on singed 12.05.1994.

Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi are the six Upper Yamuna Basin states. Upper Yamuna refers to the stretch of River Yamuna from its origin to the Okhla Barrage in Delhi.

The agreement had recognized the need to create storage facilities in Upper Yamuna Basin to conserve and utilize the monsoon flows of the river in a regulated manner. The MoU had also laid down the interim seasonal allocation of the annual utilizable flow of the river pending creation of the storage facilities.

Besides Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project for which the MoU will be signed on 28 Aug 2018, there are two other major projects being envisaged in the Upper Yamuna reaches which are Kishau Multi-Purpose project and Renukaji Multi-Purpose project.

A fourth project is the Vyasi project, a run-of-the-river scheme under which a concrete dam across River Yamuna is being constructed near Vyasi village in Dehradun district. The Vyasi project is scheduled for commissioning by December 2018.

The Kishau Multi-purpose project which includes construction of a 236 m high concrete dam across River Tons, a tributary of River Yamuna in Dehradun district with a live storage capacity of 1324 MCM, will create irrigation potential of about 97,000 hectares, make available 517 MCM drinking water and generate 660 MW of power.

The Renukaji Multi-Purpose project which has been conceived as a storage project on River Giri, tributary of Yamuna, in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh, envisages construction of 148m high rock filled dam for supply of 23 cumec water to Delhi and generate 40 MW of power during peak flow.

As per the MoU of 1994, separate agreements will have to be done between the six basin states for each water storage project in the Upper reaches of River Yamuna.

After completion of all these storage projects in Upper Yamuna Basin (including Lakhwar), the total benefits in terms of additional irrigation potential created will be 130856 hectares, water availability for various uses will be 1,093.83 MCM and power generation capacity will be 1,060 MW.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, will sign the MoU with Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh -Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan – Vasundhara Raje, Uttarakhand – Trivendra Singh Rawat, Haryana- Manohar Lal, Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal, and Himachal Pradesh – Jai Ram Thakur in New Delhi on 28 Aug 2018, an official release said 27 Aug 2018. fiinews.com