Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) After Rajasthan and Haryana reached a consensus on implementing the 1994 Yamuna water-sharing agreement, the two states are set to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on Monday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil will also attend the signing ceremony.

This will end a three-decade-long deadlock. According to official sources, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini will formalise the agreement after officials from both states finalised the framework during a marathon meeting held on Sunday.

CMO officials on Monday confirmed that Bhajanlal Sharma departed from Jaipur for Delhi at 8:30 a.m. “A ceremony to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the construction and implementation of the Yamuna Water Project will be held at Kartavya Bhawan-3, New Delhi.

The Yamuna Water Project will provide irrigation and drinking water to three districts in Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region — Sikar, Churu, and Jhunjhunu. “The MoA signing ceremony will take place in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the Union Home Secretary, and senior officials from the Central government as well as the governments of Rajasthan and Haryana,” the officials added.

The breakthrough came during a two-hour meeting at Bikaner House in New Delhi, attended by senior officials from both states. Representing Rajasthan were Chief Secretary V. Srinivas, Additional Chief Secretary Abhay Kumar, and Water Resources Department Chief Engineer Bhuvan Bhaskar. Haryana was represented by Additional Chief Secretary Anurag Agarwal and Chief Engineer Virendra Singh, while Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi joined via video conferencing.

Under the agreed framework, Haryana will draw water from several designated locations, including 10 cusecs from Danoda Kalan, 80 cusecs from Sarsaud Distributary near Nayagaon, 70 cusecs from Hindwan on Chaudhary Minor, 20 cusecs from Pattan on Sarsana Minor, two cusecs from Sega Narar, 43 cusecs from Peoda near Kaithal and 41.83 cusecs from Chandna-Manas Road near Kaithal. In addition, Haryana will have access to another designated intake point and will be permitted to draw water from one of the three reservoirs at Hashyawas as required.

The project will transport water from the Hathnikund Barrage to the Hashyawas reservoir in Churu district through a hybrid pipeline system. Since Rajgarh in Churu lies nearly 110 metres below Hathnikund, water will flow naturally through gravity for much of the route. Pumping stations will also be installed to ensure an uninterrupted supply during periods of low water flow. Instead of constituting a joint management board, both states have agreed to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement, operate, and maintain the project. The structure and operational framework of the SPV will be finalised in due course.

The Rajasthan government will bear the project’s financial burden, while efforts will also be made to secure financial assistance from the Central government.

Officials said that once completed, the same pipeline network will also facilitate the transportation of Rajasthan’s allocated water from the future Kishau, Lakhwar, and Renukaji projects.

Although Haryana had proposed revisiting water allocations in view of changing requirements since the 1994 agreement, both states have agreed to implement the original pact for now. Under the agreement, Rajasthan will receive 1,917 cusecs of the Yamuna water.

To facilitate the supply, three pipelines, each measuring 3.6 metres in diameter, will be laid from Hathnikund to Hashyawas. The proposed pipeline will pass through five Haryana districts, including Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind and Hisar.

Following formal approval of the agreement, land acquisition along the pipeline corridor will begin. Construction work will commence after tenders are floated and work orders are issued. The required financial resources will also be mobilised as the project moves into the execution phase.

–IANS

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