Five states and the Union Territory of Delhi signed a crucial agreement on the long-delayed Kishau project, which is expected to regulate water availability in a large area of the Yamuna basin.
Published: September 16, 2026, 10:47 AM IST
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Reviving Yamuna: 5 states launch massive joint project to reconnect lost river bed after 86 years (Pic:X)
Reviving Yamuna: Five states and Delhi have signed a landmark agreement for the long-delayed Kishau ProjectThis project is a dam and hydroelectric project to be built on the Tons River, a major tributary of the Yamuna River that flows along the border between Himachal Pradesh and UttarakhandThe project is expected to improve water availability and increase water flow downstream, benefiting Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
Five states and Delhi (Union Territory) signed a landmark agreement for the long-delayed Kishau Project in New Delhi on TuesdayThe agreement was signed by the Chief Ministers of all six states/Union Territories in the presence of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil.
Calling it a “historic agreement,” Amit Shah said Delhi will benefit the most from the project, which was originally conceived in 1940It will also play a key role in the ongoing rejuvenation of the Yamuna River.
Kishau Project: What will happen with this agreement?
It is hoped that this will regulate the availability of water in a large area of the Yamuna basin and increase the flow of water in the lower areas, which will benefit the capital as well as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan in some way or the other.
The water stored in the Kishau reservoir, which has a capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres, will augment the drinking water supply to Delhi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweets, “Today in New Delhi, the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana signed a historic agreement on the Kishau Multipurpose ProjectBringing this decades-long pending project to the ground… pic.twitter.com/sUuPqZUlJQ
— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2026
What is Kisau Multipurpose Project?
- The Kishau multi-purpose project is a proposed dam and hydroelectric project on the Tons River, a major tributary of the Yamuna River, which flows along the border of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- Apart from supplying drinking water, this multipurpose project will provide irrigation water to 97,000 hectares of land in the concerned states and generate 1,476 million units of hydroelectric power.
- Under the Kishau Multipurpose Project Agreement, a concrete gravity dam of about 232 metres height will be constructed on the Tons River.
Kishau declared a national project by the Centre
Shah said the Centre has declared the Kishau multipurpose project as a ‘national project’ and about 90% of its financial burden will be borne by the Centre, while the remaining 10% will be borne by the participating states as per the 1994 agreement.
On this occasion, Shah recalled several other agreements reached on water-related issues and said that the period from 2018 to 2026 will be remembered as a period when almost all water-related disputes from Kashmir to Uttar Pradesh were resolved.
Shah told which other disputes were resolved
Shah recalled that the dispute over the Lakhwar multipurpose project was resolved in August 2018The Shahpur Kandi Dam project dispute was also resolved that same month.
The dispute over the Renukaji Multipurpose Dam Project in the Upper Yamuna Basin was resolved in 2019He further said that in 2021, an agreement was reached between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on the Ken-Betwa Link Project, which benefited the water-scarce region of Bundelkhand.
Where does the Tons River originate?
The Tons River is the Yamuna’s largest tributaryIt carries more water than the Yamuna itselfThe Tons originates in the Bandarpoonch Mountains (Ruinsara region) of Uttarakhand and is formed by the confluence of the Rupin and Supin riversThe river flows along the border of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and joins the Yamuna at Kalsi (Uttarakhand), near Dehradun.
