Six States Sign Kishau Multipurpose Dam Agreement, Ending a Long-Pending Inter-State Water Deadlock

The Chief Ministers of six states signed an agreement in New Delhi on 15 September 2026 clearing the way for the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project. The states are Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired the signing, with Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil present. The dam is planned on the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna, in Sirmour district on the Himachal Pradesh–Uttarakhand border. The Centre will bear 90% of the water component cost. Shah described it as the tenth water-related dispute settled under the present government.

What Happened

On 15 September 2026, the Chief Ministers of six states signed an agreement in New Delhi on the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project, ending a deadlock over funding and benefit-sharing that had held the project up for years. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired the signing; Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil was present, along with the Union Home Secretary, the Union Secretary for Water Resources and the Chief Secretaries of the states concerned. Shah said this was the tenth water-related dispute settled under the present government.

When & Where

The signing took place in New Delhi on 15 September 2026. The dam itself is planned in Sirmour district, on the border between Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, across the Tons river. The Tons is a tributary of the Yamuna, which in turn feeds the Ganga system. Water from the project is intended for the Yamuna basin states downstream, including Delhi and Rajasthan.

Who Is Involved

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi — the six signatory states, represented by their Chief Ministers.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah — chaired the meeting at which the agreement was signed.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil — the Union minister for the water sector, present at the signing.
Ministry of Home Affairs — the ministry that convened the process and had earlier recorded the consensus among the states.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma — said water scarcity had been a major challenge for Rajasthan and welcomed the agreement.

How It Works

The project is split into a water component and a power component, and the dispute among the states was over who pays for which and who gets what. Separating the two is what made a settlement possible.
On the water side, the Centre will meet 90% of the cost as central assistance, and the six states together will meet the remaining 10%. Central funding of that scale removes the affordability objection that had stalled agreement.
On the power side, a cost of ₹2,000 crore is to be borne jointly by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana — the states that stand to gain most from the stored water.
Himachal Pradesh, on whose territory much of the project sits, gives up its share of the water to Delhi and Rajasthan. In exchange, those states carry Himachal Pradesh's portion of the power component cost. This swap is the core of the bargain.
Once built, the reservoir releases water through the year rather than only in the monsoon, which is what allows a steady 517 million cubic metres of drinking water annually and irrigation for 97,000 hectares.

Why It Matters

Constitutional and federal: inter-state river water disputes are among the hardest problems in Indian federalism, and a negotiated agreement among six states avoids years of tribunal litigation.
Economic: a ₹15,000 crore project with a 236-metre dam adds significant storage, power and irrigation capacity to the Yamuna basin.
Social: the drinking water component addresses acute scarcity in Rajasthan and in the National Capital Region.
Environmental: sustained lean-season flow in the Yamuna is central to the river's rejuvenation, which was the framing used when the agreement was announced.

Historical Background

The Kishau project has been pending for decades, held up not by engineering but by disagreement among the basin states over cost-sharing and the division of benefits. The Ministry of Home Affairs took the negotiation forward, and a consensus among the concerned states was recorded in a release dated 16 June 2026, which set out the 90:10 funding split for the water component and the swap under which Himachal Pradesh's water share goes to Delhi and Rajasthan. The signing on 15 September 2026 converted that consensus into a formal agreement between the Centre and the six states.

Previous Related Events

In August 2018, an agreement was reached on the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, also in the Yamuna basin, involving the same group of states.
In August 2018, agreement was also reached on the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project.
In 2021, the Ken-Betwa Link Project agreement was concluded.
On 16 June 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs recorded that consensus had been reached among the concerned states on the Kishau project, three months before the signing.

(All four are as cited at the 15 September 2026 signing and in the Ministry of Home Affairs release of 16 June 2026.)

Static GK Connection

Article 262 of the Constitution — provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys, and allows Parliament to bar the jurisdiction of courts in such disputes.
Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 — the law enacted under that provision, under which water disputes tribunals are constituted.
The Yamuna and the Tons — the Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganga; the Tons, on which the Kishau dam is planned, is a tributary of the Yamuna.
Multipurpose river valley projects — dams designed to deliver more than one benefit at once: storage, drinking water, irrigation, flood moderation and hydropower.

India & World Comparison

India's inter-state water disputes are unusual in scale because most of its major rivers cross several states with dense populations on each bank. The Kishau settlement is significant precisely because it was reached by negotiation rather than through a tribunal — the route most Indian water disputes have taken since the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act was enacted in 1956. Federal systems elsewhere, such as the Colorado River compact arrangements in the United States, similarly rely on negotiated compacts between states with federal financing. At 236 metres, the planned Kishau dam would be among the tallest in India.

Future Impact

Detailed project execution now follows, with the ₹15,000 crore cost to be drawn down over the construction period.
The 517 million cubic metres of annual drinking water is intended to ease supply pressure in Delhi and Rajasthan.
Irrigation potential for 97,000 hectares will be developed alongside the dam.
Sustained lean-season flow is expected to support Yamuna rejuvenation efforts downstream.
The 90:10 funding template and the water-for-power-cost swap may serve as a model for other stalled basin projects.

🔑 Key Points for Revision

Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project agreement signed on 15 September 2026 in New Delhi.
Six signatory states: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi.
Signed by the Chief Ministers of all six states.
Chaired by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil was present.
River: the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna.
Location: Sirmour district, Himachal Pradesh–Uttarakhand border.
Planned dam height: 236 metres.
Estimated project cost: ₹15,000 crore.
Centre bears 90% of the water component cost.
Six states share the remaining 10% of the water component.
Power component cost of ₹2,000 crore borne by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Himachal Pradesh's water share goes to Delhi and Rajasthan in exchange for its power-cost share.
Annual drinking water supply planned: 517 million cubic metres.
Irrigation potential: 97,000 hectares.
Described by Amit Shah as the tenth water-related dispute settled under the present government.
Ministry of Home Affairs recorded the states' consensus on 16 June 2026.

🧠 Concept Link (Static GK Deep Dive)

Core Concept: Inter-State River Water Disputes and cooperative federalism in India

Definition: an inter-state river water dispute is a disagreement between two or more states over the use, distribution or control of the waters of a river that flows through more than one of them.
Constitutional Basis: Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys.
Legal Basis: the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, enacted under Article 262, provides for the constitution of tribunals to decide such disputes.
Principle: water is a state subject, but the regulation of inter-state rivers falls to the Union — which is why the Centre must broker settlements that individual states cannot reach alone.
Link to this event: the Kishau agreement settled a long-pending dispute by negotiation under the Union Home Minister rather than by tribunal adjudication.
Origin & History: the tribunal mechanism dates from the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, and has been the default route for Indian water disputes since.
Key milestone 1: the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project agreement of August 2018, involving the same six Yamuna basin states.
Key milestone 2: the Ken-Betwa Link Project agreement of 2021, an inter-state river linking arrangement.
Related projects: the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project and the Ken-Betwa Link Project.
Nodal Ministry / Body: the Ministry of Jal Shakti handles the water sector; in this case the Ministry of Home Affairs convened the inter-state negotiation.
India-specific relevance: almost every major Indian river basin is shared by several states, so negotiated settlements directly affect drinking water and irrigation for very large populations.
Global comparison: other federations settle river-sharing through negotiated compacts between states with federal financing, as with the Colorado River arrangements in the United States.
Data point: the Kishau project is designed to supply 517 million cubic metres of drinking water annually and to irrigate 97,000 hectares.
Common exam angle: examiners ask for the constitutional article, the 1956 Act, the river and tributary, and the cost-sharing ratio.
Easy memory hook: "Six states, 90:10, 236 metres" — six signatories, the Centre-state water cost split, and the dam height.

❓ Practice MCQs

Q1. The Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project is planned on which river? [Easy]

A) Yamuna

B) Tons

C) Betwa

D) Ravi

Answer: B

Explanation: The dam is planned on the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna, in Sirmour district.

Q2. How many states signed the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project agreement on 15 September 2026? [Easy]

A) Four

B) Five

C) Six

D) Seven

Answer: C

Explanation: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi signed the agreement.

Q3. Under the agreement, what share of the water component cost will the Central Government bear? [Moderate]

A) 50%

B) 60%

C) 75%

D) 90%

Answer: D

Explanation: The Centre bears 90% of the water component cost as central assistance, with the six states sharing the remaining 10%.

Q4. Which Union Minister chaired the meeting at which the Kishau agreement was signed? [Moderate]

A) The Union Jal Shakti Minister

B) The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation

C) The Union Finance Minister

D) The Union Environment Minister

Answer: B

Explanation: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired the signing; the Union Jal Shakti Minister was present but did not chair.

Q5. Which three states are to jointly bear the ₹2,000 crore power component cost? [Moderate]

A) Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh

B) Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana

C) Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand

D) Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh

Answer: B

Explanation: Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana bear the ₹2,000 crore power component cost, in exchange for Himachal Pradesh's share of water.

Q6. Which constitutional provision deals with the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers? [Tricky]

A) Article 252

B) Article 256

C) Article 262

D) Article 263

Answer: C

Explanation: Article 262 provides for the adjudication of inter-State river water disputes; Article 263 deals with the Inter-State Council, a different mechanism.

Q7. The bargain at the heart of the Kishau agreement is best described as [Tricky]

A) Himachal Pradesh giving up its water share in exchange for other states covering its power component cost

B) Uttarakhand giving up its water share in exchange for central assistance

C) Delhi taking over the entire project cost

D) the Centre bearing 100% of both the water and power components

Answer: A

Explanation: Himachal Pradesh's water share goes to Delhi and Rajasthan, and those states in return carry Himachal Pradesh's portion of the power component cost.

Q8. Which of the following pairs relating to the Kishau project is correctly matched? [Tricky]

A) Dam height — 517 metres

B) Annual drinking water — 97,000 million cubic metres

C) Irrigation potential — 97,000 hectares

D) Project cost — ₹2,000 crore

Answer: C

Explanation: The irrigation potential is 97,000 hectares; the dam height is 236 metres, annual drinking water 517 million cubic metres, and the project cost ₹15,000 crore, of which ₹2,000 crore is the power component.

📜 Previous Year Question Style (PYQ)

PYQ 1:

The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act was enacted in which year?

A) 1950

B) 1956

C) 1972

D) 2002

Answer: B

Explanation: The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act was enacted in 1956, under the authority of Article 262 of the Constitution.

PYQ 2:

Consider the following statements about the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project agreement of 15 September 2026:

Six states signed the agreement.
The Central Government will bear 90% of the water component cost.
The dam is planned in Sirmour district.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only

C) 2 and 3 only

D) All of the above

Answer: D

Explanation: All three are correct — six states signed, the Centre bears 90% of the water component, and the site is in Sirmour district on the Himachal Pradesh–Uttarakhand border.

PYQ 3:

Match the following:

| Project | Year of agreement | | --- | --- | | 1. Lakhwar Multipurpose Project | a. 2021 | | 2. Ken-Betwa Link Project | b. 2026 | | 3. Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project | c. 2018 |

A) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b

B) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c

C) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a

D) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a

Answer: A

Explanation: The Lakhwar agreement was reached in August 2018, the Ken-Betwa Link Project agreement in 2021, and the Kishau agreement on 15 September 2026.

✍️ Mains Answer Pointers

Question 1 (150 words): Inter-state river water disputes in India have usually been settled by tribunals. Assess the significance of the Kishau agreement as an alternative route.

The Kishau settlement matters because of how it was reached rather than what it delivers. Six states — Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi — signed an agreement on 15 September 2026 at a meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister, ending a deadlock that adjudication had not resolved.

The design of the bargain explains why it worked. Splitting the project into a water component and a power component allowed each state to trade what it valued least. Himachal Pradesh surrendered its water share to Delhi and Rajasthan, which in return carried its portion of the ₹2,000 crore power cost, while the Centre underwrote 90% of the water component.

Tribunals allocate entitlements; they cannot construct trades of this kind. The way forward is to use negotiated settlements, backed by central financing, for projects where the gains can be split across different benefit streams.

Question 2 (250 words): Discuss the constitutional and institutional framework governing inter-state river waters in India, using the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project to illustrate how disputes are settled in practice.

The constitutional design places water in an awkward middle position. Water is primarily a state subject, yet the regulation of inter-state rivers falls to the Union, and Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys. Parliament gave that provision effect through the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, which allows tribunals to be constituted to decide such disputes. For seven decades that has been the default route.

The Kishau project shows the limits of adjudication and the possibilities of negotiation. The project, planned on the Tons river in Sirmour district with a dam height of 236 metres and a cost of ₹15,000 crore, was held up for years not by engineering but by disagreement over cost-sharing and benefits. The Ministry of Home Affairs took the negotiation forward, recorded a consensus on 16 June 2026, and brought the six Chief Ministers to a signing on 15 September 2026.

The settlement rests on two devices. First, central financing at 90% of the water component removed the affordability barrier. Second, a swap — Himachal Pradesh's water share to Delhi and Rajasthan, their money towards its power component cost — converted a zero-sum quarrel into an exchange. The project is expected to yield 517 million cubic metres of drinking water annually and irrigation for 97,000 hectares.

The precedent is worth institutionalising. Where benefits can be unbundled and the Centre is willing to finance, negotiated compacts can deliver faster than tribunals, provided the terms are written down and enforceable.

⚠️ Examiner Trap

Trap 1: Students confuse Article 262 with Article 263. The correct fact is that Article 262 deals with the adjudication of inter-State river water disputes, while Article 263 provides for the Inter-State Council.
Trap 2: A common wrong assumption is that the Kishau dam is on the Yamuna itself. The reality is that it is planned on the Tons, which is a tributary of the Yamuna.
Trap 3: Many students miss that the 90% central share applies only to the water component. Always remember that the ₹2,000 crore power component is borne by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, not by the Centre.

🧭 Exam Tip

Prelims examiners will ask for the river, the district, the number of signatory states, the 90:10 split and the 236-metre dam height.
Mains examiners will want the federalism argument — why negotiated settlements succeed where tribunals stall, and what makes a benefit-swap possible.
Interview panels raise this as a question on cooperative federalism and on the Centre's role as an honest broker between states.
High-probability prediction: a match-the-following question pairing Yamuna basin projects with their agreement years, or a statement-based question mixing the water and power cost shares.

Six States Sign Kishau Multipurpose Dam Agreement, Ending a Long-Pending Inter-State Water Deadlock

What Happened

When & Where

Who Is Involved

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi — the six signatory states, represented by their Chief Ministers.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah — chaired the meeting at which the agreement was signed.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil — the Union minister for the water sector, present at the signing.
Ministry of Home Affairs — the ministry that convened the process and had earlier recorded the consensus among the states.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma — said water scarcity had been a major challenge for Rajasthan and welcomed the agreement.

How It Works

The project is split into a water component and a power component, and the dispute among the states was over who pays for which and who gets what. Separating the two is what made a settlement possible.
On the water side, the Centre will meet 90% of the cost as central assistance, and the six states together will meet the remaining 10%. Central funding of that scale removes the affordability objection that had stalled agreement.
On the power side, a cost of ₹2,000 crore is to be borne jointly by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana — the states that stand to gain most from the stored water.
Himachal Pradesh, on whose territory much of the project sits, gives up its share of the water to Delhi and Rajasthan. In exchange, those states carry Himachal Pradesh's portion of the power component cost. This swap is the core of the bargain.
Once built, the reservoir releases water through the year rather than only in the monsoon, which is what allows a steady 517 million cubic metres of drinking water annually and irrigation for 97,000 hectares.

Why It Matters

Constitutional and federal: inter-state river water disputes are among the hardest problems in Indian federalism, and a negotiated agreement among six states avoids years of tribunal litigation.
Economic: a ₹15,000 crore project with a 236-metre dam adds significant storage, power and irrigation capacity to the Yamuna basin.
Social: the drinking water component addresses acute scarcity in Rajasthan and in the National Capital Region.
Environmental: sustained lean-season flow in the Yamuna is central to the river's rejuvenation, which was the framing used when the agreement was announced.

Historical Background

Previous Related Events

In August 2018, an agreement was reached on the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, also in the Yamuna basin, involving the same group of states.
In August 2018, agreement was also reached on the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project.
In 2021, the Ken-Betwa Link Project agreement was concluded.
On 16 June 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs recorded that consensus had been reached among the concerned states on the Kishau project, three months before the signing.

(All four are as cited at the 15 September 2026 signing and in the Ministry of Home Affairs release of 16 June 2026.)

Static GK Connection

Article 262 of the Constitution — provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys, and allows Parliament to bar the jurisdiction of courts in such disputes.
Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 — the law enacted under that provision, under which water disputes tribunals are constituted.
The Yamuna and the Tons — the Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganga; the Tons, on which the Kishau dam is planned, is a tributary of the Yamuna.
Multipurpose river valley projects — dams designed to deliver more than one benefit at once: storage, drinking water, irrigation, flood moderation and hydropower.

India & World Comparison

Future Impact

Detailed project execution now follows, with the ₹15,000 crore cost to be drawn down over the construction period.
The 517 million cubic metres of annual drinking water is intended to ease supply pressure in Delhi and Rajasthan.
Irrigation potential for 97,000 hectares will be developed alongside the dam.
Sustained lean-season flow is expected to support Yamuna rejuvenation efforts downstream.
The 90:10 funding template and the water-for-power-cost swap may serve as a model for other stalled basin projects.

🔑 Key Points for Revision

Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project agreement signed on 15 September 2026 in New Delhi.
Six signatory states: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi.
Signed by the Chief Ministers of all six states.
Chaired by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil was present.
River: the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna.
Location: Sirmour district, Himachal Pradesh–Uttarakhand border.
Planned dam height: 236 metres.
Estimated project cost: ₹15,000 crore.
Centre bears 90% of the water component cost.
Six states share the remaining 10% of the water component.
Power component cost of ₹2,000 crore borne by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Himachal Pradesh's water share goes to Delhi and Rajasthan in exchange for its power-cost share.
Annual drinking water supply planned: 517 million cubic metres.
Irrigation potential: 97,000 hectares.
Described by Amit Shah as the tenth water-related dispute settled under the present government.
Ministry of Home Affairs recorded the states' consensus on 16 June 2026.

🧠 Concept Link (Static GK Deep Dive)

Core Concept: Inter-State River Water Disputes and cooperative federalism in India

Definition: an inter-state river water dispute is a disagreement between two or more states over the use, distribution or control of the waters of a river that flows through more than one of them.
Constitutional Basis: Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys.
Legal Basis: the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, enacted under Article 262, provides for the constitution of tribunals to decide such disputes.
Principle: water is a state subject, but the regulation of inter-state rivers falls to the Union — which is why the Centre must broker settlements that individual states cannot reach alone.
Link to this event: the Kishau agreement settled a long-pending dispute by negotiation under the Union Home Minister rather than by tribunal adjudication.
Origin & History: the tribunal mechanism dates from the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, and has been the default route for Indian water disputes since.
Key milestone 1: the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project agreement of August 2018, involving the same six Yamuna basin states.
Key milestone 2: the Ken-Betwa Link Project agreement of 2021, an inter-state river linking arrangement.
Related projects: the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project and the Ken-Betwa Link Project.
Nodal Ministry / Body: the Ministry of Jal Shakti handles the water sector; in this case the Ministry of Home Affairs convened the inter-state negotiation.
India-specific relevance: almost every major Indian river basin is shared by several states, so negotiated settlements directly affect drinking water and irrigation for very large populations.
Global comparison: other federations settle river-sharing through negotiated compacts between states with federal financing, as with the Colorado River arrangements in the United States.
Data point: the Kishau project is designed to supply 517 million cubic metres of drinking water annually and to irrigate 97,000 hectares.
Common exam angle: examiners ask for the constitutional article, the 1956 Act, the river and tributary, and the cost-sharing ratio.
Easy memory hook: "Six states, 90:10, 236 metres" — six signatories, the Centre-state water cost split, and the dam height.

❓ Practice MCQs

Q1. The Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project is planned on which river? [Easy]

A) Yamuna

B) Tons

C) Betwa

D) Ravi

Answer: B

Explanation: The dam is planned on the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna, in Sirmour district.

Q2. How many states signed the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project agreement on 15 September 2026? [Easy]

A) Four

B) Five

C) Six

D) Seven

Answer: C

Explanation: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi signed the agreement.

Q3. Under the agreement, what share of the water component cost will the Central Government bear? [Moderate]

A) 50%

B) 60%

C) 75%

D) 90%

Answer: D

Explanation: The Centre bears 90% of the water component cost as central assistance, with the six states sharing the remaining 10%.

Q4. Which Union Minister chaired the meeting at which the Kishau agreement was signed? [Moderate]

A) The Union Jal Shakti Minister

B) The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation

C) The Union Finance Minister

D) The Union Environment Minister

Answer: B

Explanation: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired the signing; the Union Jal Shakti Minister was present but did not chair.

Q5. Which three states are to jointly bear the ₹2,000 crore power component cost? [Moderate]

A) Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh

B) Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana

C) Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand

D) Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh

Answer: B

Explanation: Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana bear the ₹2,000 crore power component cost, in exchange for Himachal Pradesh's share of water.

Q6. Which constitutional provision deals with the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers? [Tricky]

A) Article 252

B) Article 256

C) Article 262

D) Article 263

Answer: C

Explanation: Article 262 provides for the adjudication of inter-State river water disputes; Article 263 deals with the Inter-State Council, a different mechanism.

Q7. The bargain at the heart of the Kishau agreement is best described as [Tricky]

A) Himachal Pradesh giving up its water share in exchange for other states covering its power component cost

B) Uttarakhand giving up its water share in exchange for central assistance

C) Delhi taking over the entire project cost

D) the Centre bearing 100% of both the water and power components

Answer: A

Explanation: Himachal Pradesh's water share goes to Delhi and Rajasthan, and those states in return carry Himachal Pradesh's portion of the power component cost.

Q8. Which of the following pairs relating to the Kishau project is correctly matched? [Tricky]

A) Dam height — 517 metres

B) Annual drinking water — 97,000 million cubic metres

C) Irrigation potential — 97,000 hectares

D) Project cost — ₹2,000 crore

Answer: C

📜 Previous Year Question Style (PYQ)

PYQ 1:

The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act was enacted in which year?

A) 1950

B) 1956

C) 1972

D) 2002

Answer: B

Explanation: The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act was enacted in 1956, under the authority of Article 262 of the Constitution.

PYQ 2:

Consider the following statements about the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project agreement of 15 September 2026:

Six states signed the agreement.
The Central Government will bear 90% of the water component cost.
The dam is planned in Sirmour district.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only

C) 2 and 3 only

D) All of the above

Answer: D

Explanation: All three are correct — six states signed, the Centre bears 90% of the water component, and the site is in Sirmour district on the Himachal Pradesh–Uttarakhand border.

PYQ 3:

Match the following:

| Project | Year of agreement | | --- | --- | | 1. Lakhwar Multipurpose Project | a. 2021 | | 2. Ken-Betwa Link Project | b. 2026 | | 3. Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project | c. 2018 |

A) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b

B) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c

C) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a

D) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a

Answer: A

Explanation: The Lakhwar agreement was reached in August 2018, the Ken-Betwa Link Project agreement in 2021, and the Kishau agreement on 15 September 2026.

✍️ Mains Answer Pointers

Question 1 (150 words): Inter-state river water disputes in India have usually been settled by tribunals. Assess the significance of the Kishau agreement as an alternative route.

⚠️ Examiner Trap

Trap 1: Students confuse Article 262 with Article 263. The correct fact is that Article 262 deals with the adjudication of inter-State river water disputes, while Article 263 provides for the Inter-State Council.
Trap 2: A common wrong assumption is that the Kishau dam is on the Yamuna itself. The reality is that it is planned on the Tons, which is a tributary of the Yamuna.
Trap 3: Many students miss that the 90% central share applies only to the water component. Always remember that the ₹2,000 crore power component is borne by Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, not by the Centre.

🧭 Exam Tip

Prelims examiners will ask for the river, the district, the number of signatory states, the 90:10 split and the 236-metre dam height.
Mains examiners will want the federalism argument — why negotiated settlements succeed where tribunals stall, and what makes a benefit-swap possible.
Interview panels raise this as a question on cooperative federalism and on the Centre's role as an honest broker between states.
High-probability prediction: a match-the-following question pairing Yamuna basin projects with their agreement years, or a statement-based question mixing the water and power cost shares.