CMS of six states sign Renukaji Dam project agreement
SHIMLA : Six north Indian states, including Himachal Pradesh, on Friday signed an MOU to construct ₹4,596 crore Renukaji Multipurpose Dam in Uttrakhand to fulfil the water needs of these states, said an official statement.
The multipurpose dam will be built on Giri river in upper Yamuna basin. The chief ministers of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh signed the MOU here at an event where Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari was present.
The dam will augment water availability for New Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. The project will also generate 40 mega watt (MW) of power during peak flow and is proposed to be executed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL). Since 90 per cent cost of the power component is being borne by Delhi, Himachal Pradesh would get about 200 million units of electricity at ₹0.30 per unit, Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur said in an officlal statement.
The dam would generate net revenue of Rs 60 crore per annum to the HPPCL and Rs 12 crore to the state government in its first year of operation. The revenue benefits would further increase over a period of time.
‘HIMACHAL ECONOMY TO GET A BOOST’
Thakur said with the flow of investment of more than ₹5000 crore, the state’s economy and district Sirmour, in particular, would benefit immensely.
“We had vigorously pursued the matter of funding the power component with the Centre as a result of which the Delhi government agreed to finance 90 percent cost of power house and the project received fast clearance within three months,” the CM said.
He said with the construction of the dam, the flow of the Giri river would increase about 110 per cent whihc will meet the drinking water needs of Delhi and other basin states.
The 90 percent cost of irrigation and drinking water component of the project i.e. ₹3892.83 crore will be provided by the Central government and rest 10 percent of the above cost i.e. ₹432.54 crore by the six states. The shares of these states viz Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand, HP, Rajasthan and NCT of Delhi are 47.82%, 33.65%, 3.15%, 9.34% and 6.04%, respectively. The project had hit roadblocks repeatedly since an agreement was signed in 1994 that water from the dam would be supplied to Delhi. The national status project is located some 250 km from Delhi.