Kishau dam pact inked: The long delay in project, stakes for 6 states, Pg16

Key Highlights:

• Six states signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Kishau Multipurpose Project on Tuesday.
• The Rs 15,000-crore project aims to generate 422 MW of hydropower on the Tons River.
• The project involves a 232.6-meter high concrete gravity dam on the border of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• It will provide electricity, irrigation for 97,076 hectares, and drinking/industrial water to Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Union government will bear 90% of the project cost, with the six states sharing the remaining 10%.

Kishau Project.jpg

Detailed Insights:

• The Kishau Multipurpose Project is situated on the Tons River, a significant tributary of the Yamuna River.
• It is one of three crucial storage projects planned for the Upper Yamuna basin, alongside the Lakhwar and Renukaji projects.
• The project faced an eight-year delay primarily due to Himachal Pradesh's concerns regarding cost burden and land submergence.
• Approximately 2,950 hectares of land and around 5,500 people across 17 villages are expected to be affected by submergence.
• The need for such storage facilities was identified in the 1994 MoU concerning the allocation of Yamuna water among basin states.
• The project will have a storage capacity of 1,786 million cubic meters (MCM), with an actual storage of 1,324 MCM.
• Kishau Corporation Ltd was established in January 2017 as a joint venture between Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for the project.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Multipurpose Project: An infrastructure project designed to serve multiple objectives such as power generation, irrigation, and water supply.
• Concrete Gravity Dam: A dam that relies on its own weight and the force of gravity to resist the horizontal thrust of water.
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU): A non-binding agreement between two or more parties outlining their intentions to work together.
• Hydropower: Electricity generated from the energy of moving water, typically by harnessing it through dams and turbines.