Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma
will visit Pilani in Jhunjhunu district on April 21 to review the
progress of the Yamuna water project, ahead of the second joint meeting
of the Haryana-Rajasthan Task Force scheduled for April 25 in Hisar.
According to an official statement, this review is part of
the state’s push to implement the 1994 Yamuna Water Agreement, which had
allotted 1,917 cusecs of monsoon-period water to Rajasthan from Tajewala
Head. For 30 years, Rajasthan was unable to receive this water due to
administrative and technical deadlocks.
This stalemate was broken on February 17, 2024,
following a breakthrough agreement in the presence of the Chief Ministers of
Rajasthan and Haryana and the Union Jal Shakti Minister. Under this
agreement, both states committed to preparing a joint DPR (Detailed
Project Report) for a water flow system to deliver drinking water to
Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region—including Sikar, Jhunjhunu, and Churu.
The plan involves transporting water from Hathinikund
Barrage to Hansiyawas Reservoir via three underground pipelines. A
new Additional Chief Engineer, Yamuna Water post has been created to
monitor and accelerate the project.
Additionally, Rajasthan has already paid its share—₹77.90
crore—towards the Renukaji and Lakhwar storage projects in the Upper
Yamuna Basin, ensuring access to 201 MCM of water post-monsoon.
The state government emphasized its commitment to the
project, ensuring continuous progress through inter-state cooperation and
infrastructure readiness.