Jaipur, June 30 -- The Rajasthan and Haryana governments on Monday signed the long-awaited implementation agreement for the inter-state Yamuna Water Project. The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), signed in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah, initiates on-ground implementation of the project, under which Rajasthan will receive 577 million cubic metres (MCM) of its allocated share of Yamuna water every year. Officials said the water will be transported from the Hathinikund Barrage in Haryana through three underground pipelines, each over 3.6 metres in diameter, to the Shekhawati region- comprising of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu districts, while also improving the supply of drinking water in Haryana's Bhiwani and Fatehabad districts. Calling the agreement a resolution to a dispute pending for nearly three decades, Shah described it as a model of "cooperative federalism" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. "This agreement demonstrates that even decades-old inter-state issues can be resolved through cooperation between the Centre and states," Shah said, adding that the pact could serve as a model for future interstate water-sharing projects. "I would like to cite the Narmada project as a prime example of this. When our Prime Minister was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, there was no formal demand from Rajasthan for Yamuna water. However, he devised a project after observing the situation in Rajasthan... recognizing that the mass migration of people from that region was largely due to the water crisis. In 2003, without us even asking, the Prime Minister allocated Narmada water to the Barmer and Jalore districts of Rajasthan," he said. Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma termed the agreement a "historic milestone" for the Shekhawati region, saying it fulfilled a 32-year-old demand that first gained momentum in 1994 under former chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, but remained stalled for decades. He added the BJP government revived the project soon after assuming office by signing a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre and Haryana on February 17, 2024. The newly signed MoA translated that understanding into action, he said. Under the first phase, Rajasthan will receive its share of Yamuna water between July and October every year for drinking and other essential needs. Officials said the project would ease chronic water scarcity across Shekhawati region and create a long-term drinking water source. In the second phase, the project will extend irrigation facilities to nearly 105,000 hectares of farmland, including around 35,000 hectares in Churu and 70,000 hectares in Jhunjhunu. The Centre said the project would also enable the use of Rajasthan's share of Yamuna water that was currently wasted during monsoon. Water stored in reservoirs was expected to improve groundwater recharge. Sharma added that the state government has been pursuing the Renukaji, Lakhwar and Kishau storage projects in the Yamuna basin. Once completed, these projects are expected to provide the state with an additional 201 MCM of water, enabling year-round supply through the same pipeline network beyond the monsoon season. The implementation agreement comprehensively defines financial responsibilities, cost-sharing arrangements, water allocation, release protocols, infrastructure maintenance, monitoring mechanisms, transparency measures and dispute-resolution procedures, providing a long-term framework for smooth execution of the project. Launching a political attack on the Congress, Sharma alleged that previous governments had failed to advance the project despite repeated demands and claimed the agreement had become possible because of the "triple-engine government" at the Centre and in Rajasthan and Haryana. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union jal shakti minister CR Patil, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, senior officials of the two state governments and the Central Water Commission. Officials said it marked one of Rajasthan's most significant interstate water initiatives in recent years and laid the foundation to deliver Yamuna water to millions in the state's chronically water-stressed Shekhawati region after a wait of more than three decades. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, Haryana Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, senior officials of the two state governments and the Central Water Commission. It marks one of Rajasthan's most significant inter-state water initiatives in recent years....