Six states to sign Renukaji Dam project agreement on Jan 11

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NEW DELHI: In the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan will sign an agreement for the Renukaji Dam Project on January 11. The dam is being constructed to meet the drinking water needs of these states.

The dam will be a three-way project and will be constructed along the Yamuna and two of its tributaries, Tons and Giri. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are the two states involved.

Major irrigation cost and the drinking water component of these projects will be taken care by the central government. 10 per cent of the expenditure will be shared by the beneficiary states.

According to a statement given by the government, a storage project to be constructed on Giri River in Sirmour District of Himachal Pradesh will be a 148-metre high rock-filled dam for supplying 23 cubic metres water per second to Delhi and other basin states. It will generate 40 MW of power during peak flow. The construction of the dam will increase the flow of river Giri by 110 per cent which will meet the drinking water needs of Delhi and other basin states up to some extent in the lean period.

Another agreement will be signed for construction of sewage system for areas in the city of Prayagraj which will include two projects for sewage management as there is no sewage treatment facility and it is polluting Ganga and Yamuna. The agreement will be signed under the ‘One City One Operator’ concept’ among U P Jal Nigam, National Mission for Clean Ganga and Prayagraj Water Pvt Ltd.

The government has sanctioned Rs 908.16 crore for the two projects, which will include construction of sewage treatment plants of total capacity 72 million litres per day (MLD) (Naini: 42 MLD, Phaphamau: 14 MLD and Jhunsi: 16 MLD).