Shimla, June 17 -- The eight-year deadlock on the construction of Kishau Dam ended on Tuesday after the Centre and beneficiary states agreed to cover the Rs.2,000 crore power component cost for the project, said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday after his meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah. "The Centre has in principle agreed that the estimated cost of Rs.2,000 crore on the power component of the state's side will be borne by the beneficiary states of water component - Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana- of this project."shared by CM Sukhu after the high level meeting in Delhi with Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday. The decision paves the way for the construction of the project, proposed to be built on the Tons river--a Yamuna tributary along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border at an estimated cost of around Rs.15,000 crore, the government said. The 660 mega watt Kishau multipurpose dam project involves the construction of a 236-metre-high concrete dam, create an irrigation potential of 97,000 hectares, and supply 517 million cubic metres (MCM) water annually to Delhi, Rajashtan and Haryana. Sukhu said the issue was resolved after detailed discussions attended by Union home minister, Union jal shakti minister CR Patil, Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and representatives of the beneficiary states. Sukhu said the Himachal had opposed provisions of an earlier agreement approved during the previous BJP government in the state. "The previous BJP government had agreed to give Rs.800 crore state's share which the present Congress government refused, citing state's limited financial resources. The states that require water, including Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, should bear the cost associated with the project. Himachal cannot be expected to pay for power generation while providing its natural resources." He also said that while the Centre is providing a 90% grant for the water component of the project, similar assistance is not being extended for the power component. He said the agreement would provide substantial long-term financial benefits to the state. Himachal would receive its share of 100 crore units of electricity annually from the project's power component after its completion, amounting to about Rs.600 crore a year, which would further strengthen the state's financial resources, he added. The CM informed that Himachal would also be entitled to the benefits normally available to host states in hydropower projects, including free power royalty. "The states that require water, including Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, should bear the cost associated with the project. Himachal Pradesh cannot be expected to pay for power generation while providing its natural resources," he said. The Himachal chief minister further said the state would bear the maximum impact of the project as people in the affected area would be displaced. Therefore, it would be unfair to impose an additional financial burden on Himachal, and its contribution towards national progress should be compensated suitably, he added, the statement reads. "Congress government had always put interests of the state and it's people above and effectively protected them. This is a major victory in the battle of the state in it's fight for securing the legitimate share of the state in power projects, securing pending arrears etc," said Sukhu....