Six states signed agreement for Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project on January 11, 2019

Six states- Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand signed an agreement for Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project on January 11, 2019. The project is aimed at meeting the drinking water needs of these states.

Six states signed agreement for Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project on January 11, 2019

The agreement was signed in the presence of  Union Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi. All the six Chief Ministers were also present on the occasion
Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project
• Under the project, three storage projects are proposed to be constructed on the river Yamuna and two of its tributaries - Tons and Giri in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.  These include:
- Lakhwar project on river Yamuna in Uttarakhand
- Kishau on river Tons in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Renukaji on river Giri in Himachal Pradesh
• These three projects were conceived in 2008 and were identified as National Projects.
• The 90 per cent funding of the cost of irrigation and drinking water component of these projects will be provided by the union government as central assistance.
• The remaining 10 per cent cost of the irrigation and drinking water component will be borne by the beneficiary states.
Other Agreements
In addition to this, a concession agreement was signed for the Namami Gange projects for the city of Prayagraj under Hybrid Annuity Mode and One City One Operator Concept.
The Prayagraj Agreement was signed between U.P. Jal Nigam, NMCG and Prayagraj Water Pvt. Ltd.
Besides,  the states had already signed an agreement in respect of sharing of cost and benefits of Lakhwar project in August 2018.
A similar agreement is scheduled to be signed for the implementation of Renukaji Dam Project.

Renukaji Dam Project The project has been conceived as a storage project on Giri River, a tributary of river Yamuna, in Sirmour District of Himachal Pradesh. It envisages construction of 148 M high rock filled dam for supply of 23 cumec water to Delhi and other basin states. The project will also generate 40 MW of power during peak flow. It is proposed to be executed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL). The live storage of Renukaji MPP is 0.404 MAF and total submergence area is about 1508 hectares in the territory of HP. After the construction of the proposed dam, the flow of river Giri will increase by about 110 per cent, which will meet the drinking water needs of Delhi and other basin states up to some extent in the lean period. The stored water of Renukaji Dam will be used by states such as UP, Haryana and the NCT of Delhi from Hathnikund Barrage, by NCT of Delhi  from Wazirabad Barrage and by UP, Haryana and Rajasthan from Okhla Barrage.  The investigation works in respect of Renukaji dam project had begun in 1976.  However, due to some unavoidable reasons, the construction works could not be started. Funding of the Project The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 4596.76 crores, out of which the cost of irrigation and drinking water component would be Rs 4325.43 crores and the cost of power component would be Rs 277.33 crore. The 90 per cent cost of irrigation and drinking water component of the project would be Rs 3892.83 crore, which will be provided by the Central government and rest 10 per cent, Rs. 432.54 crore, will be provided by the basin states. The shares of these states Haryana, UP/UK, HP, Rajasthan and NCT of Delhi are 47.82 per cent, 33.65 per cent, 3.15 per cent, 9.34 per cent and 6.04 per cent respectively. The Government of NCT of Delhi has agreed to fund 90 per cent of the cost of power component of the project. For the investigation and land acquisition of the project, the Central government has released Rs. 446.96 crore, while Delhi has released Rs. 214.84 crore and Haryana government has released Rs. 25 crore till date.  All the mandatory clearances in respect of Renukaji dam project except Stage-II forest clearance, invest clearance and approval from CCEA have been obtained.

Projects for Concession Agreement
• The trans-Ganga and Yamuna areas in Prayagraj namely Naini, Phaphamau and Jhunsi currently do not have any sewage treatment facility and thereby pollute rivers Ganga and Yamuna.
• The Prayagraj town already has a comprehensive sewerage network and sewage treatment facilities.
• However, these are with different operators and without long term sustainable mechanism for Operation and Maintenance (O&M).
• Accordingly, two projects have been sanctioned for sewage management in the trans-Ganga/Yamuna areas and O&M of existing sewerage assets costing Rs. 908.16 crore.
• These projects will lead to creation of I&D network and 3 STPs of total capacity 72 MLD (Naini - 42 MLD, Phaphamau - 14 MLD and Jhunsi - 16 MLD) and O&M of all the sewerage assets for 15 years.
• These two projects are under One City One Operator concept for implementation on Hybrid Annuity based PPP mode for the sewerage management of the town in sustainable and accountable manner and improve governance.
• These projects would lead to creation of new capacity of 72 MLD, rehabilitation of 80 MLD, operation & maintenance of existing STPs of 254 MLD capacity and 10 Sewage Pumping Stations.

Quick Digest
Who: Six states
What: Sign agreement on Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project
When: January 11 , 2019

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