Upper Yamuna Water Agreement 1994: All you need to know about the MoU signed by Haryana and Rajasthan | Today’s news
Rajasthan and Haryana on Monday signed an agreement to implement the Jamuna water project, which has been stuck in limbo for nearly three decades. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Union Minister Jal Shakti CR Patil along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended the MoU signing between the two states.
Rajasthan and Haryana MoU
Under the deal, drinking water will be supplied to Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu districts in Rajasthan as well as Bhiwani and Fatehabad districts in Haryana.
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Shekhawat is one of the most water stressed areas in the desert state of Rajasthan.
How will Yamuna water be shared
According to the agreement, water will be transported from Hathnikund barrage in Haryana.
Home Minister Shah said that this agreement will go a long way in solving the problem of drinking water in Rajasthan and Haryana, especially in Rajasthan.
The project seeks to facilitate the conveyance of Rajasthan’s share of the Yamuna waters through an underground pipeline system from the West Yamuna Canal, enabling the state to efficiently use the water allocated to it under the 1994 Memorandum of Understanding on Sharing of Usable Surface Waters of the Upper Yamuna Basin.
The project is expected to benefit millions of people by ensuring reliable supply of drinking water and promoting socio-economic development in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan. The agreement also lays the foundation for the timely implementation of the project through coordinated efforts of the central government and the governments of the participating states.
1994 Upper Yamuna Water Agreement
The original memorandum of understanding was signed on 12 May 1994 by the Yamuna basin states – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi regarding the distribution of the surface flow of the river. After its creation in 2000, Uttarakhand was also included in the MoU.
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Shah said the project seeks to facilitate transportation of Rajasthan’s share of Yamuna waters through an underground pipeline system from the West Yamuna Canal, which will enable the state to efficiently use the water allocated to it under the 1994 Memorandum of Understanding on Sharing of Usable Surface Waters of the Upper Yamuna Basin.
“This agreement shows that if states move forward in the spirit of cooperative federalism, even a three-decade-old problem can be easily resolved,” he said.
Shah said that under today’s agreement, around 580 million cubic meters (MCM) of water from the Jamuna canal will be supplied to Rajasthan through three underground pipelines from July to October.
The three pipelines are more than 3.6 meters in diameter and will provide drinking water to the people of both Rajasthan and Haryana.
Shah said the deal was an excellent example of a “win-win situation” for both states.
Gehlot wants MoU made public
Reacting to this development, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot demanded that the state government make the newly signed MoU public.
Gehlot said the Rajasthan government had entered into a new agreement with Haryana on the Yamuna water issue, but did not disclose its details.
He said the people of the state have a right to know the terms agreed upon in a matter directly related to the state’s interests.
“Later it emerged that the agreement envisaged that Haryana would receive 24,000 cusecs of water first and the remaining water would be allocated to Rajasthan,” he said.
Gehlot said that if a similar provision existed in the new agreement, it would be against the spirit of the 1994 Yamuna Water Sharing Pact, which envisaged distribution among states in proportion to water availability rather than giving priority to any one state.
