Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shipping and Road Transport & Highways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh - Shri Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan - Smt Vasundhara Raje , Uttarakhand -Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Haryana- Shri Manohar Lal, Delhi - Shri Arvind Kejriwal, and Himachal Pradesh - Shri Jai Ram Thakur in New Delhi for the construction of Rs. 3966.51 crore Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project in the Upper Yamuna Basin.

The Lakhwar project was initially approved in 1976 but work on the project was suspended in 1992. The Lakhwar project envisages construction of a 204 m high concrete dam across river Yamuna near Lohari village in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of 330.66 MCM. This storage will provide irrigation for 33,780 hectares land and availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic, drinking and industrial use in the six basin states. The project will also generate 300 MW of power. The project is to be executed by M/s Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVL).