The decades-old Yamuna water dispute between Rajasthan and Haryana has come to an end. After the signing of the agreement, now Shekhawati region of Rajasthan will get Yamuna water. CM Bhajan Lal Sharma has called it a historic decision and a big success.
New Delhi [भारत]June 30 (ANI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Tuesday hailed the signing of the long-pending Yamuna water agreement with Haryana. A day after the agreement was formally signed in New Delhi, he described it as a major success for the Shekhawati region of the state.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Sharma said, “Yesterday, on June 29, a decision was taken between our Home Minister Amit Shah, Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and me; the historic Shekhawati region of Rajasthan will also get water. Yesterday, a major water issue was resolved.”
‘Projects stuck for decades are being resolved’
He stressed on his government’s comprehensive efforts to resolve decades-old, stuck projects for Rajasthan, citing the Ram Jal Setu scheme. “In the last two and a half years, solutions have been found for projects that Rajasthan was waiting for for decades, and work on these schemes has started. An agreement was reached on the Ram Jal Setu scheme – which was long pending between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – and today, work on projects worth Rs 24,000 crore is underway.
“A historic decision was taken on June 29. Soon after our government was formed, we signed an MoU with the Haryana government on February 12, 2024, to ensure that Rajasthan gets its due share of water – as stipulated in our 1994 agreement,” he said.
The objective of this project is to facilitate transportation of Rajasthan’s allocated share of Yamuna waters through an underground pipeline system from the Western Yamuna Canal, thereby enabling the State to effectively utilize the waters allocated under the 1994 Memorandum of Understanding on Sharing of Usable Surface Waters of the Upper Yamuna Basin.
He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resolving the issue, which had remained a puzzle for previous governments. The CM said, “There were many instances when there were Congress governments in Rajasthan, Haryana and the Centre, yet they never truly understood our problems. I want to thank the Prime Minister for understanding the seriousness of Rajasthan’s water crisis.”
3 decade deadlock ends, project worth Rs 34 thousand crore approved
Rajasthan and Haryana on Monday signed the long-awaited Yamuna water agreement in New Delhi, ending a three-decade-long standoff and paving the way for the implementation of a Rs 34,102-crore water infrastructure project aimed at redefining Rajasthan’s water landscape.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini and senior officials of the Central and both state governments.
Water will reach through underground pipeline
According to a release, the project will transport Rajasthan’s allocated share of 577 million cubic meters (MCM) of Yamuna water from Hathnikund barrage in Haryana to Hansiyawas reservoir in Churu district through a 295.5-km underground pipeline network.
The project will include three pipelines of 3.6 meter diameter, an inspection motorway, artificial reservoir and a modern digital water management system. This project also has a provision for supply of drinking water at ten places in Haryana.
The Rajasthan government said the detailed project report (DPR) has been uploaded on the e-PAMS portal of the Central Water Commission, while the Haryana government has given in-principle approval for the proposed pipeline alignment.
A dedicated special purpose vehicle, Rajasthan Haryana Yamuna Jal Pariyojana-SPV (RHYW-SPV), will be set up to oversee the execution, operation and maintenance of the project. (ANI)
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