NEW DELHI: Haryana and Rajasthan Monday signed an agreement that allows the latter to get water from the Yamuna Canal through three underground pipelines from July to Oct every year under the 1994 memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sharing of utilisable surface waters of the Upper Yamuna Basin.The agreement, signed in the national capital in the presence of Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah and jal shakti minister C R Patil, will facilitate the supply of drinking water to the districts of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, as well as Bhiwani and Fatehabad areas in Haryana. The 32year-old agreement could not be implemented until now because of the absence of a canal system to supply water to Rajasthan. The move will now allow the implementation of the Yamuna Water Project.Stating that the agreement had resolved the three-decadeold water-related problem faced by people of Haryana and Rajasthan, Shah said the agreement is an excellent example of the mantra ‘Solution Through Dialogue’ given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“This agreement demonstrates that if states move forward with the spirit of cooperative federalism, even a problem persisting for three decades can be resolved easily… It’s a win-win situation for both the states,” said Shah. Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini were also present on the occasion.Shah said water that earlier went to waste will now quench people’s thirst and will be stored in large ponds to recharge the groundwater level. Approximately 580 million cubic metres of water will be supplied from Yamuna Canal to Rajasthan through three underground pipelines having a diameter of more than 3.6 metres.The project seeks to ensure the conveyance of Rajasthan’s allocated share of Yamuna waters through an underground pipeline system from Western Yamuna Canal, enabling the state to effectively utilise the water allocated to it under the 1994 MoU by the Yamuna Basin states — UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal and Delhi regarding allocation of the surface flow of the river. After its creation in 2000, Uttarakhand was also included in the MoU.
