Examine the significance of multipurpose river valley projects for water security and inter-state cooperation in India, citing recent examples.

Multipurpose river valley projects combine storage, irrigation, power and drinking water in a single structure on an inter-state river — a subject under Entry 56 of the Union List, with Article 262 governing disputes. The Upper Yamuna Basin cluster, capped by the 2026 consensus on the Kishau Multipurpose Project [1], shows why they remain central to India's water strategy.

Significance for water security

• Lean-season storage: Kishau's 236 m dam offers 1,324 MCM live storage, 517 MCM of drinking water and irrigation for ~97,000 hectares [1]; Renukaji is designed to raise Giri river flow by about 110% in the lean period [2].
• Multiplier from one asset: Kishau adds 660 MW and Lakhwar 300 MW with 34,000 ha of irrigation [1][3] — clean power and food security from the same investment.
• Transfer of water to deficit regions: stored Yamuna water reaches Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan through the Hathnikund, Wazirabad and Okhla barrages [2].

Significance for inter-state cooperation

• Negotiated benefit-sharing over litigation: at Kishau, Himachal Pradesh's water share was reallocated to Delhi and Rajasthan in exchange for others bearing its power-component cost, with the Centre funding 90% of the water component [1] — a bargain impossible before a tribunal.
• Repeatable template: the same six states signed for Lakhwar (2018) and Renukaji (2019) [3][2], building habits of cooperative federalism.
• Standing machinery: the Upper Yamuna Review Committee, in its 9th meeting at Noida in November 2025, sustains coordination beyond one-off agreements [4].

Limitations

• Consensus is not completion — Renukaji, agreed in 2019, still awaits Stage-II forest clearance and CCEA approval, while submergence of about 1,508 hectares falls wholly on Himachal Pradesh [2].
• Storage augments quantity, not quality; Yamuna rejuvenation still depends on raising sewage treatment capacity to 1,500 MGD by 2028 [5].

Their true significance therefore lies less in concrete than in converting a zero-sum contest over water into a positive-sum sharing of benefits. Time-bound clearances, transparent rehabilitation and parallel pollution abatement can make these projects durable instruments of both water security and cooperative federalism.