Central water commission last year had given its clearance to 300 the Lakhwar project located in Dehradun district With the Uttarakhand government keen on constructing the 300 MW multipurpose Lakhwar project on the river Yamuna, the state planning commission has chalked out plans for developing a Rs 351 crore drinking water network from the dam in order to fulfill the growing water needs of Dehradun city. The technical advisory committee (TAC) of the central water commission (CWC) last year had given its clearance to 300 the Lakhwar project located in Dehradun district where an investment of Rs nearly Rs 4,000 crore is needed. Unlike the raging hydel project controversy surrounding the river Ganga, the projects on the river Yamuna have remained away from the prying eyes of environmentalists and religious leaders. ALSO READ: Deluge: U'khand yet to implement water management act Lakhwar is a multipurpose project on the river Yamuna which will also provide irrigation and drinking water benefits to Delhi and other northern states like Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The project was transferred from NHPC to the state-run UJVN Ltd in 2010 and has also been declared as a national project. Lakhwar would also provide 330 MCM of drinking water from its dam. The project would also irrigate a total of 31923 hectare of land in these states. Delhi and Rajsthan have already given their acceptance to share the cost of the project. It would be constructed by the UJVNL at an estimated cost of Rs 3,966 crore, out of which the Centre would provide Rs 2,578 crore and the remaining Rs 1,388 crore would be invested by the state government. To be completed in four years, the project will be capable of irrigating 39123 hectares of land. A top government official told Business Standard that the water can be brought through gravity tunnel of about 21 km length from Lakhwar project to Dehradun city, which is facing acute water shortage especially during summers. The total cost of constructing such a tunnel will be Rs 231 core and the remaining Rs 120 crore will be spent on appurtenant works, water treatment and distribution networks, said Harshpati Unniyal, adviser to the state planning commission. ALSO READ: Industrialisation suffers in Uttarakhand Unniyal, a former chief general manager of the Jal Sansthan, the nodal agency for the water distribution in the state, said the project report has already been submitted to the government for further action. “At present domestic water requirement of Dehradun town is met through perennial rivers in the adjoining area and ground water. These sources are on the verge of depletion and Lakhwar project can be highly beneficial for the city of Dehradun,” said Unniyal. Unniyal also stated that since large stretch of the Yamuna river is located in uttarakhand, riparian rights of Uttarakhand needs to be considered and protected. But surprisingly, the power department has not shown much enthusiasm in the project. “Lakhwar is a national project and only the centre can take a final decision regarding the drinking project,” said a top government official.