+ GFXJaipur/New Delhi: Rajasthan and Haryana Monday signed a long-awaited agreement to implement the Yamuna Water Project, paving the way for drinking water supply to Rajasthan’s water-scarce Shekhawati region through a nearly 300-km underground pipeline from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana.The memorandum of agreement (MoA) was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil.Calling it the end of a nearly three-decade-old issue, Shah said the agreement was an example of “cooperative federalism” and showed how interstate disputes could be resolved through dialogue.“This agreement resolves a water issue that remained pending for almost 30 years. It is a win-win arrangement for both Rajasthan and Haryana,” the Union home minister said.The project will enable Rajasthan to draw its allocated share of Yamuna water through three underground pipelines from the Western Yamuna Canal during the monsoon months.The water will primarily be used to meet drinking water needs in Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu, while parts of Bhiwani and Fatehabad in Haryana will also benefit. Officials said nearly 580 million cubic metres (MCM) of water will be conveyed every year. Besides supplying drinking water, the project aims to recharge groundwater by storing surplus monsoon water in reservoirs.The Rs 34,102-crore project involves laying a 295.5-km underground pipeline from Hathnikund Barrage to the proposed Hansiyawas reservoir in Churu. The project also includes inspection roads, an artificial reservoir and a modern monitoring system. A joint special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be set up by Rajasthan and Haryana to execute and operate the project.Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil said the agreement would finally allow Rajasthan to utilise the share of Yamuna water allocated to it under the 1994 Upper Yamuna Basin agreement, which remained largely unused because there was no infrastructure to bring water into the state.Chief Minister Sharma described the pact as a milestone for Rajasthan’s water security. “For decades, Rajasthan had a legal share in Yamuna waters but lacked the means to utilise it. With this agreement, water from the Hathnikund Barrage will reach Shekhawati through an underground pipeline, ensuring long-term drinking water security for the region,” Sharma said.Haryana CM Singh Saini said his govt would extend full cooperation for the timely execution of the project, adding that ensuring access to safe drinking water was a shared responsibility of both states.The agreement lays down a detailed framework covering water allocation, cost sharing, land acquisition, operation and maintenance, monitoring and dispute resolution, providing a roadmap for implementing one of North India’s largest interstate drinking water projects.The project traces its origins to the 1994 Upper Yamuna Basin agreement, under which Rajasthan was allocated 1,917 cusecs of Yamuna water at Tajewala Head. However, in the absence of a conveyance system, the state could not utilise its share for more than three decades. A breakthrough came in Feb 2024, when Rajasthan and Haryana agreed to prepare a joint detailed project report for transferring the water through an underground pipeline. Monday’s agreement gives the project its formal implementation framework.
