Himachal Secures Its Interests, Rs. 2,000 Crore Burden Shifted to Beneficiary States.
Centre Agrees to Protect Himachal’s Interests in Rs. 15,624 Crore Kishau Dam Project.
New Delhi:
Himachal Pradesh has secured a significant financial concession in the proposed 422 MW Kishau Multipurpose Project, with the Centre agreeing in principle that an estimated Rs. 2,000 crore cost of the power component attributable to the state will be borne by the beneficiary states of the water component.
The development came as Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi for implementation of the Kishau Multipurpose Project. The project, estimated to cost Rs. 15,624 crore, is proposed on the Tons River along the border of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil. The participating states were represented by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.
Chief Minister Sukhu said sustained efforts by the state government had helped break an eight-year-old deadlock over the financial cost-sharing arrangement for the project.
Speaking to the media, Sukhu said that at a high-level meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister on June 16, 2026, the Centre agreed in principle that the estimated Rs. 2,000 crore power-component cost on Himachal Pradesh’s side would be borne by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, which are beneficiaries of the project’s water component.
He said the state government had strongly pursued the matter to prevent Himachal Pradesh from taking on an additional financial burden.
Sukhu said the previous government had agreed to contribute around Rs. 800 crore as the state’s share, but the present government opposed the proposal, citing the state’s limited financial resources.
The Chief Minister said Himachal Pradesh had also argued that the Centre was providing 90 per cent grant assistance for the water component, and that similar assistance should be considered for the power component.
He further pointed out that people in the project-affected areas of Himachal Pradesh would face displacement and that the state would bear a significant share of the social and other impacts of the project. He said it would therefore be unfair to impose an additional financial burden on the state without adequate compensation.
State Government Breaks Eight-Year Deadlock, Secures Power Share Worth Over Rs. 1,000 Crore Annually
Under the project, Himachal Pradesh will receive a share of approximately 1,000 million units of electricity every year from the power component. Sukhu said the annual value of this power share is expected to be more than Rs. 1,000 crore after the project is completed.
He said the development would provide an additional source of revenue for Himachal Pradesh and described it as an important step towards securing the state’s legitimate share in major power projects.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the state government had consistently placed the interests of Himachal Pradesh and its people at the forefront and would continue to safeguard the state’s financial and developmental interests.
He said the agreement represented a significant development in the state’s efforts to secure its rightful benefits from the Kishau project while avoiding an additional financial burden on Himachal Pradesh.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Chief Secretary K.K. Pant and Additional Chief Secretary R.D. Nazeem during the proceedings.
