1994 Upper Yamuna Water Agreement

About 1994 Upper Yamuna Water Agreement

• The 1994 Upper Yamuna Water Agreement is an inter-state pact for sharing the utilisable surface waters of the Upper Yamuna Basin.
• Signatory States: The original Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
  • Later Addition: Uttarakhand became part of the agreement in 2000 after its creation.
• Governing Body: The Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) was established in 1995 to implement the MoU and regulate water allocation.
• Objective: The agreement lays down rules for sharing the surface flow of the Upper Yamuna Basin to meet drinking and irrigation needs among the basin states.
• Dams and Infrastructure: The agreement also recognised the need for future construction of upstream storage dams such as Renuka, Kishau, and Lakhwar-Vyasi to augment water supply.
• Recent Breakthrough (June 2026):
  • Implementation Agreement: Haryana and Rajasthan signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to operationalise the 1994 Upper Yamuna Water Agreement after nearly three decades of delay.
  • Water Conveyance: Rajasthan’s allocated 577 million cubic metres (MCM) of Yamuna water will be transported from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana to the Hansiyawas Reservoir in Churu district through an underground pipeline network of about 295.5 kilometres.
  • Project Infrastructure: The project includes three underground pipelines, each 3.6 metres in diameter, along with inspection roads, artificial reservoirs, and a modern water management system.
  • Implementation Mechanism: A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) named the Rajasthan-Haryana Yamuna Water Project SPV (RHYW-SPV) will oversee the implementation, construction, operation, and maintenance of the project.