Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday expressed confidence that the goal of a clean Yamuna will be achieved by 2029, saying sustained efforts are underway under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah made the remarks while chairing a meeting attended by the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana during the signing of the agreement for the Kishau Multipurpose Project.
The Union Home Minister said there had been a serious lapse in the allocation of Yamuna waters, as the river’s environmental flow was not adequately accounted for while distributing the available water among the states.
He said 25 per cent additional water would become available through the Kishau Multipurpose Project, which would be beneficial for both Delhi and the Yamuna and contribute to environmental conservation.
Shah said continuous efforts have been underway to clean the Yamuna since Rekha Gupta assumed office as Delhi Chief Minister.
“We will be able to achieve the goal of a clean Yamuna by 2029,” Shah said, adding that cleaning the Yamuna was also important for achieving the goal of a clean Ganga, as the Yamuna merges with the Ganga at Prayagraj.
He said the Delhi government and other stakeholders were working with full cooperation and commitment towards cleaning the river.
Shah expressed confidence that the six states would work in the same spirit to ensure the early completion of the Kishau project. He said the project would help provide water for drinking, agriculture, development and industrial purposes to crores of people.
Calling the Kishau agreement a historic move, Shah said the project would benefit Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi in different ways.
He congratulated the Chief Ministers of the six states and Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil for their role in bringing the project to this stage.
The Union Home Minister said the Central government and the six states in the Yamuna basin were committed to completing the project at the earliest.
He noted that the Government of India has declared the Kishau Multipurpose Project a National Project. The Centre will bear around 90 per cent of its financial burden, while the remaining 10 per cent will be borne by the participating states in accordance with the 1994 agreement.
Shah said the Uttarakhand government had raised certain concerns and assured that efforts would be made to accommodate its demands through Central schemes. He also said the Centre would assist Uttarakhand in meeting the financial burden that may arise for the state.
Under the project, a 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam will be constructed on the Tons River, which flows along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border. The project will have a water storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres.
According to the details shared by the government, the project will irrigate around 97,000 hectares of land and generate 1,476 million units of clean hydropower.
Shah said Delhi would be the biggest beneficiary of the project.
