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The Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana signed the Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement on 15 September 2026.
The project involves a 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam on the Tons River along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border, storing 1,562 million cubic metres.
It has been declared a National Project, with the Centre bearing about 90 per cent of the cost and the partner states 10 per cent.
The government describes it as the tenth inter-state water dispute settled since 2018, after Lakhwar, Shahpur Kandi, Renukaji, Ken-Betwa and others.
About 25 per cent of the water is to be made available for the Yamuna's environmental flow, which was never calculated when the river's waters were first allocated.
Storage, drinking water and power on the Yamuna in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand.
Key: A 300 MW project with a 204-metre dam benefiting the same six basin states; the inter-state dispute was resolved in August 2018 and the foundation stone was laid on 30 December 2021.
Augment drinking water supply to the National Capital Region.
Key: Proposed on the Giri, a Yamuna tributary in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, with 40 MW of peaking hydropower; the dispute was resolved in 2019.
Harness the Ravi's waters in Punjab.
Key: Its dispute was settled in August 2018, in the same month as Lakhwar.
Transfer surplus water from the Ken to the Betwa - both Yamuna tributaries - for water-stressed Bundelkhand.
Key: Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh reached agreement in 2021.
Transfer water within the Chambal system across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Key: The revised project moved forward in 2024; the Hathinikund-to-Yamuna underground pipeline scheme was approved in February 2024.
Settle water sharing in the Son, a Ganga tributary.
Key: Settled in August 2026; the Narmada Project displacement rehabilitation dispute was resolved in July 2026.
Regulates allocation of the available flows of the Yamuna among the basin states and monitors return flows, under the 1994 memorandum of understanding; constituted by a Ministry of Water Resources resolution dated 11 March 1995, so it is an executive body rather than a statutory one
The Jal Shakti department that carried the negotiation to a conclusion; its Secretary attended the signing
The release credits Zonal Council meetings with laying the foundation for these settlements; they are statutory advisory bodies for inter-state coordination chaired by the Union Home Minister, with state chief ministers as members
Empowers Parliament to provide by law for the adjudication of disputes over the waters of inter-state rivers and river valleys, and to bar the Supreme Court and other courts from exercising jurisdiction over them.
The tribunal route enacted under Article 262. The Kishau settlement deliberately took the other route - a negotiated agreement among the basin states - rather than a tribunal award.
Provides for river boards to advise on the regulation and development of inter-state rivers. Worth noting the contrast: the Upper Yamuna River Board was not set up under this Act but by an executive resolution in 1995.
Article 263 provides for an Inter-State Council; the Zonal Councils, credited in the release with building consensus, were created under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
The basin-wide agreement among the Upper Yamuna states which provided that each storage project would need its own separate agreement - the basis on which Lakhwar, Renukaji and now Kishau were each settled individually.
The quantity of water a river must be allowed to retain to keep its ecosystem alive. The release notes that when the Yamuna's waters were allocated, e-flow was never calculated and the whole available flow was shared out among the states, leaving none for the river.
Upper Yamuna basin states sign a memorandum of understanding providing for a separate agreement for each storage project in the basin.
The Upper Yamuna River Board is constituted by a Ministry of Water Resources resolution.
The Lakhwar Multipurpose Project dispute is resolved; the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project dispute is settled the same month.
The Renukaji Multipurpose Dam Project dispute in the Upper Yamuna basin is resolved.
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh reach agreement on the Ken-Betwa Link Project for Bundelkhand.
The Hathinikund-to-Yamuna underground pipeline scheme is approved; the revised Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link advances the same year.
The dispute over rehabilitation of families displaced by the Narmada Project is resolved.
Bihar and Jharkhand settle water sharing in the Son basin.
Formal agreement is reached on the Kishau Multipurpose Project.
Six chief ministers sign the Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement in New Delhi.
GS Paper 2 > Polity > Federalism, Inter-State Relations and Dispute Redressal Mechanisms
General Awareness > Indian Geography > Rivers and Dams
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Indian Geography
With reference to India, consider the following: I. The Inter-State Council II. The National Security Council III. Zonal Councils How many of the above were established as per the provisions of the Constitution of India?
Answer: Only one
Arrange the following events in chronological order: 1. Eastern Zonal Council meeting 2022 2. States Reorganisation Act passed 3. First Central Zonal Council meeting
Answer: 2-3-1
A dam that resists water pressure by its own weight; the Kishau dam is to be 232.6 metres high.
A designation under which the Government of India bears about 90 per cent of a water resources project's cost, the states 10 per cent - applied to Lakhwar earlier and now to Kishau.
The share of a river's water reserved for the river's own ecosystem; 25 per cent of the Kishau water is to serve this purpose for the Yamuna.
The unit in which reservoir storage is stated; Kishau's capacity is 1,562 MCM.