Six states sign Kishau water agreement, but experts question dam’s risks and utility
Six states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana — signed an agreement on 15 September 2026 for the Kishau Multipurpose Project, a dam on the Tons River on the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border
The project envisages a 232.6-metre concrete gravity dam storing 1,562 million cubic metres of water, intended to irrigate about 97,000 hectares and generate power, while also supporting flows for Yamuna river cleaning
The estimated project cost is about ₹15,000-15,624 crore, with roughly 90% central funding and 10% borne by the participating states
Experts have flagged high seismic risk in the region, outdated displacement estimates, and the non-availability of Environmental Impact Assessment and feasibility study documents for public scrutiny
Displacement is estimated at around 5,498 people from 701 families, with submergence affecting about 2,950 hectares, including forest and agricultural land
Inter-State Water Sharing Mechanisms: MOU Route vs Article 262 Tribunals
India uses two distinct routes to manage inter-state river water: negotiated Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between riparian states, and statutory adjudication under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, enacted under Article 262 of the Constitution. The Kishau agreement follows the MOU/consensus route rather than the dispute-adjudication route, since it builds on an existing cooperative framework among Yamuna basin states.
Key Details
- Article 262 empowers Parliament to legislate for adjudication of disputes over inter-state rivers, and to bar the Supreme Court or any other court from exercising jurisdiction over such disputes
- Under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, if negotiation fails, the Centre may constitute a Water Disputes Tribunal composed of sitting or former Supreme Court judges; a published tribunal award has the same force as a Supreme Court decree
- The Kishau project instead builds on the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB), created under a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 12 May 1994 among Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi (Uttarakhand joined after its 2000 creation), which allocates Yamuna flows roughly as: Haryana 40.6%, Uttar Pradesh 35.1%, Rajasthan 10.4%, Delhi 6.3%, Himachal Pradesh 1.7%
- The UYRB monitors allocation, water quality, and hydro-meteorological data across the basin, distinguishing it from a dispute tribunal, which only intervenes when negotiation fails
The Kishau agreement is a fresh storage-sharing accord within the pre-existing 1994 UYRB cooperative framework, illustrating the negotiated-MOU model of inter-state river management as opposed to adjudicated tribunal awards.
Dam Safety Act, 2021
The Dam Safety Act, 2021 provides a uniform national legal framework for the surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of specified large dams, applicable to dams taller than 15 metres (or 10-15 metres with certain design features) — a threshold the proposed 232.6-metre Kishau dam would comfortably exceed.
Key Details
- The Act came into force on 30 December 2021 and established the National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) and the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) at the Centre, with corresponding State Committees on Dam Safety (SCDS) and State Dam Safety Organisations (SDSO)
- The NDSA implements NCDS policy, resolves disputes between State Dam Safety Organisations or between an SDSO and a dam owner, and specifies inspection/investigation regulations
- The Act prescribes penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for non-compliance or obstruction of inspection
Given the seismic risk flagged for Kishau, the dam's design, inspection regime, and emergency action plan would fall squarely under Dam Safety Act oversight once construction proceeds, making this framework directly testable in the context of large Himalayan dam projects.
Seismic Zonation of the Himalayan Region
India is divided into four seismic zones (II-V) under the Bureau of Indian Standards zoning map, with Zone V representing the highest hazard. The entire Himalayan arc, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh where the Kishau dam site lies, falls in Zone IV or V due to active tectonic stress along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, where the Indian Plate continues to underthrust the Eurasian Plate.
Key Details
- Uttarakhand spans Zones IV and V; Himachal Pradesh is classified predominantly in Zone V, among the country's most hazardous
- A revised seismic hazard assessment has proposed reclassifying parts of the Himalayan belt into an even higher hazard category, citing persistent tectonic stress, though the official BIS zoning (Zones II-V) remains the codified standard
- Large dams in high seismic zones require site-specific seismotectonic studies and are designed for the Maximum Credible Earthquake (MCE), distinct from the lower Design Basis Earthquake (DBE) used for routine structures
The seismic risk cited by experts for the Kishau site is not incidental — the entire Tons River valley lies within India's highest formal seismic hazard zones, making earthquake-resilient design and independent seismic review central to the project's safety case.
- Dam height: 232.6 metres (concrete gravity dam) on the Tons River, a Yamuna tributary
- Storage capacity: 1,562 million cubic metres; irrigation potential: ~97,000 hectares
- Estimated project cost: ₹15,000-15,624 crore (about 90% Centre, 10% states)
- Signing states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana (six states, 15 September 2026)
- Displacement estimate: ~5,498 people from 701 families; submergence of ~2,950 hectares (512 ha agricultural, 2,438 ha forest)
- Foundational framework: Upper Yamuna River Board MOU, signed 12 May 1994
- Power generation figures reported inconsistently across documents: 422 MW vs 660 MW [Unverified — discrepancy noted in source reporting, not independently resolved]