Shimla, Sep 15 (PTI) Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday said the Centre has in principle agreed that an estimated Rs 2,000 crore for the power component of the Kishau Multipurpose Project, an agreement for which was signed on Tuesday by Himachal Pradesh and other states, would be borne by other beneficiary states.
Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan signed an MoU in New Delhi for the implementation of the 422 MW Kishau Multi Purpose Project.
The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana – Yogi Adityanath, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Bhajanlal Sharma, Rekha Gupta and Nayab Singh Saini – signed the agreement in the presence of Union minister Amit Shah and Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil.
The project is to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 15,624 crore on the Tons river, a tributary of the Yamuna, on the border of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Speaking to media after signing the pact, Sukhu said the central government has agreed to protect the interest of Himachal Pradesh.
In a high level meeting held on June 16, under the chairmanship of Union minister Shah, the Centre had in principle agreed that an estimated financial share of Rs 2,000 crore on power component of the state’s side will be borne by the beneficiary states of water component of the project, Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Sukhu said the state will get its share of 1,000 million units of power per year from the power component of the project, which amounts to likely more than Rs 1,000 crore after the construction of the project that is yet another addition to the state’s financial resources.
He added that the Himachal Pradesh government had strongly pursued the matter to protect the state from bearing the financial burden.
He said that the previous government had agreed to give Rs 800 crore state’s share which the present government refused in the interest of the state keeping in view the limited resources of the state.
The Centre is providing 90 per cent grant for the water component and it is not fair that such assistance is not being given for the power component, Sukhu said.
“While the population of the state in the area will be displaced, so the state will bear maximum loss due to the project. Therefore, it was unfair for the state to bear financial burden further and its contribution towards the nation’s progress should be compensated suitably,” he said.
The CM said that the present government had always put the interests of the state and its people above and effectively protected them. “This is a major victory in the battle of the state in its fight for securing the legitimate share of the state in power projects,” he added. PTI COR SKY SKY
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