Haryana, Rajasthan sign pact to implement Yamuna water project
Haryana and Rajasthan signed an implementation agreement in New Delhi on June 29, 2026, to operationalise the 32-year-old 1994 Yamuna water-sharing accord — an allocation that Rajasthan had been unable to draw upon due to infrastructure gaps.
The Union Home Ministry facilitated and oversaw the signing, underscoring the Centre's role in brokering inter-state water agreements outside the tribunal framework.
Under the agreement, Rajasthan's allocated share of approximately 577 million cubic metres (MCM) of Yamuna water will be drawn from Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana and transported to Hansiyawas Reservoir, Churu district, through an underground pipeline network extending approximately 295.5 kilometres.
The project is estimated at ₹34,102 crore and will be executed through a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle — the Rajasthan-Haryana Yamuna Water Project SPV (RHYW-SPV).
Drinking water will be supplied to the water-stressed districts of Sikar, Churu, and Jhunjhunu (Shekhawati region, Rajasthan) and Bhiwani and Fatehabad (Haryana), reducing dependence on over-exploited groundwater reserves.
Water will flow through three underground pipelines, each with a diameter exceeding 3.6 metres, primarily during monsoon months (July–October) when Yamuna flows are surplus.
The 1994 Yamuna Water Sharing Agreement
On May 12, 1994, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed among the Yamuna basin states — Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and NCT Delhi — for the allocation of the surface flow of the Yamuna. Uttarakhand (carved from UP in 2000) was subsequently included. The 1994 MoU created the first formal allocation framework for upper Yamuna waters, overriding the earlier practice under which Rajasthan and Delhi received only humanitarian surplus flows.
Key Allocation Details (1994 MoU): - Haryana: 5.730 BCM (largest share — long-established canal network) - Uttar Pradesh: 4.032 BCM - Rajasthan: 1.119 BCM (~577–580 MCM as monsoon drawable quantum) - Delhi: 0.724 BCM - Himachal Pradesh: 0.378 BCM
The 2026 pact does not create a new water right — it builds the infrastructure to deliver Rajasthan's 1.119 BCM entitlement that has existed since 1994 but remained undrawn due to the absence of conveyance infrastructure. Implementation was delayed for over three decades by disputes over cost-sharing, pipeline alignment, and inter-departmental clearances.
Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) — Constitutional and Statutory Basis
The Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) was established in 1995 by a Central Government resolution under the River Boards Act, 1956, as the regulatory and monitoring body for the 1994 MoU. It operates as a subordinate office of the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation).
Key Details
- Composition: Part-time Chairman (Member, Central Water Commission); one nominee each from UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and NCT Delhi; a full-time Member-Secretary who does not belong to any beneficiary state.
- Functions: Regulate allocation of available Yamuna flows among beneficiary states; monitor return flows and water quality; maintain hydro-meteorological data; oversee watershed management; monitor all projects up to and including Okhla Barrage.
- The UYRB frames a 10-day water accounting schedule for each state's draw from Hathnikund Barrage.
- The River Boards Act, 1956 was enacted under Entry 56 of the Union List (development and regulation of inter-state rivers and river valleys when declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest).
The UYRB will regulate and monitor the flows drawn under the 2026 pact. The SPV executes construction; the UYRB governs the ongoing water accounting.
Inter-State Water Disputes — Constitutional Framework
Article 262 of the Constitution provides Parliament the power to legislate for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys. Crucially, Article 262(2) empowers Parliament to exclude the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and all other courts from such disputes.
Under Article 262, Parliament enacted two key statutes: 1. Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (ISWD Act): Provides for the constitution of Tribunals to adjudicate inter-state water disputes when negotiated settlement fails. A tribunal's final award, once published in the Official Gazette, has the same force as a Supreme Court decree (Section 6, ISWD Act). Major tribunals include those for the Cauvery, Krishna, Narmada, Godavari, Ravi-Beas, and Mahadayi rivers. 2. River Boards Act, 1956: Provides for setting up advisory and coordinating River Boards for inter-state rivers; the UYRB is constituted under this Act.
Key Details
- Article 262 is in Part XI (Relations between the Union and States).
- Inter-state water disputes fall in the Union List, Entry 56, giving Parliament overriding legislative authority.
- The Union Home Ministry's facilitation role in bilateral inter-state agreements (as in this case) reflects the Centre's constitutional duty as federal arbiter — an alternative to the formal tribunal route when states voluntarily reach agreement.
The Yamuna sharing arrangement proceeded via bilateral negotiation and an MoU (not a tribunal), but it operates within the legal framework of Article 262, the River Boards Act, and UYRB oversight. The 2026 implementation agreement similarly relies on Centre-mediated negotiation rather than litigation.
Yamuna River — Geography and Significance
The Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganga and India's second longest river after the Ganga itself.
Key Details
- Origin: Yamunotri Glacier on the southwestern slopes of Banderpooch peaks, Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, at an elevation of approximately 6,387 metres.
- Length: approximately 1,376 km; merges with the Ganga at Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam).
- States traversed: Uttarakhand → Himachal Pradesh → Haryana → Delhi → Uttar Pradesh.
- Major tributaries (left bank — from western/Aravalli system): Tons (largest by volume), Hindon, Chambal (longest by basin), Sindh, Betwa, Ken.
- Delhi: the Yamuna supplies a substantial portion of Delhi's water needs — estimates range from 40–70% depending on the season and infrastructure in use; nearly 57 million people across the basin depend on Yamuna waters.
- Hathnikund Barrage (Yamuna Nagar, Haryana), operational since March 2002, is the primary diversion structure on the upper Yamuna — it replaced the 1873-era Tajewala Barrage. Water from Hathnikund is routed into the Western Yamuna Canal (Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan) and Eastern Yamuna Canal (UP).
The Shekhawati region (Sikar, Churu, Jhunjhunu) lies in the arid zone of Rajasthan, geographically far from the Yamuna basin — hence the need for a long-haul underground pipeline from Hathnikund rather than a conventional canal.
- 1994 Yamuna MoU signed: May 12, 1994; signatories: UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, NCT Delhi (Uttarakhand added post-2000).
- Rajasthan's 1994 allocation: 1.119 BCM (drawable quantum under 2026 pact: ~577 MCM, monsoon months).
- Haryana's 1994 allocation: 5.730 BCM (largest among basin states).
- Pipeline: ~295.5 km underground; from Hathnikund Barrage (Yamuna Nagar, Haryana) to Hansiyawas Reservoir (Churu, Rajasthan); 3 pipes, each diameter exceeding 3.6 m.
- Project cost: ₹34,102 crore; implementation via RHYW-SPV (joint SPV).
- Beneficiary districts — Rajasthan: Sikar, Churu, Jhunjhunu (Shekhawati region); Haryana: Bhiwani, Fatehabad.
- UYRB constituted: 1995 under River Boards Act, 1956; parent ministry: Jal Shakti.
- Constitutional provision: Article 262 (inter-state water disputes; SC/HC jurisdiction can be excluded).
- Statutory instruments: River Boards Act, 1956 (UYRB); Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (Tribunals).
- Yamuna origin: Yamunotri Glacier, Uttarkashi, ~6,387 m.
- Yamuna length: ~1,376 km; joins Ganga at Prayagraj.
- Hathnikund Barrage operational since: March 2002 (replaced Tajewala Barrage, 1873).