Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended a high-level inter-state meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, chaired by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, to advance the long-pending Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project on the Yamuna River. States including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan reached a consensus to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project's implementation.

Context

CM Dhami posted on X that the meeting produced agreement on an MoU among the participating states — "समझौता ज्ञापन (MOU) पर सहमति बनी" [consensus reached on a Memorandum of Understanding]. The states also agreed on a balanced resolution of water and energy interests. Dhami described the development as a "ऐतिहासिक उपलब्धि" [historic achievement] in the national interest, enabled through cooperative federalism and dialogue.

Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Minister of Jal Shakti C. R. Patil were also present at the meeting, reflecting the project's dual mandate of water storage and hydropower generation.

Policy Backdrop

The Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project is a proposed structure on the Yamuna River designed for water storage, hydropower production, and flood moderation. Inter-state discussions around the project have formed part of broader Yamuna basin water-sharing frameworks that date to the 1990s and have been reviewed periodically by the Central Water Commission.

The project has remained pending for decades due to the complexity of aligning the water and energy interests of multiple riparian states. The National Water Policy framework has consistently emphasised negotiated allocation of river-basin resources over unilateral state action, a principle that this meeting appears to have operationalised.

CM Dhami credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and Home Minister Amit Shah's guidance for breaking the longstanding deadlock, framing the consensus as a model of cooperative federalism.

Stakeholders and Impact

The six states party to the proposed MoU — Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan — together constitute a large share of the Yamuna basin's population and agricultural demand. A functional Kishau dam is expected to augment clean water flow, improve water security for future generations, and contribute to the rejuvenation of the Yamuna River, as Dhami's post stated.

Hydropower generated by the project would benefit the northern grid, aligning with the centre's renewable-energy expansion targets. Farmers and urban water utilities across the basin states stand to gain from more predictable water availability, particularly during lean-flow seasons.

What's Next

The consensus reached at the meeting is a political and administrative milestone, but the formal signing of the MoU, followed by environmental and forest clearances, will be the next critical steps before construction can begin. Funding commitments — whether through the Union Budget or a NITI Aayog review — will determine the pace of implementation.

Observers will watch whether the inter-state agreement translates into a legally binding document and whether the centre announces dedicated financing for what would be one of the most significant Yamuna basin infrastructure projects in recent decades.