Chandigarh, September 16, 2026: Former Punjab Principal Secretary Irrigation and Special Chief Secretary KBS Sidhu has urged the Centre to give Punjab a place on the Upper Yamuna River Board, arguing that the state should have a formal role in the governance of the Yamuna basin.
Sidhu has written to Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil following the signing of the agreement on the Kishau Multipurpose Project by six states on September 15.
Punjab’s exclusion from Kishau agreement raised
In his letter, Sidhu said Punjab was neither consulted nor made a party to the Kishau agreement signed by Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
According to the letter, the Kishau project will create 1,562 million cubic metres of storage on the Tons river and supply around 517 million cubic metres of drinking water annually. The letter states that the Centre will provide 90 per cent of the water-component cost.
Sidhu said the agreement also addresses the allocation of Himachal Pradesh’s share of water, with Delhi and Rajasthan taking that share in return for bearing Himachal Pradesh’s power-component cost.
Sidhu seeks Punjab’s inclusion in Upper Yamuna Board
Sidhu argued that undivided Punjab was historically a Yamuna basin state and had irrigated land through the Western Yamuna Canal.
He said Punjab currently has no seat on the Upper Yamuna River Board and was not consulted on the Kishau project.
In his representation to the Union Minister, Sidhu has asked the Centre to admit Punjab as a full member of the Upper Yamuna River Board.
Three key requests to the Centre
Sidhu has made three principal requests in his letter.
First, he has asked the Centre to place on record the fact that Punjab was not a party to or consulted on the Kishau agreement and to explain the basis on which Punjab’s standing in the Upper Yamuna basin has been treated since the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966.
Second, he has sought full membership for Punjab in the Upper Yamuna River Board, including a
