Besides, the barrage -- which is a control structure and is about 3 km upstream of the existing Tajewala Headworks -- will help in moderation of floods.

``Hitherto, we were facing major difficulties in regulation and passing through of heavy discharges due to the obsolete structure of Tajewala Headworks,'' Dua pointed out. In fact, the headworks had suffered severe damages in 1978 when a record flood of 7.77 lakh cusecs passed through river Yamuna.

Though the decision to construct a suitable replacement structure to moderate floods and cater to increased capacities was taken in the early 1970s, negotiations between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh took more than 20 years. The memorandum of understanding under the Yamuna accord was signed only in July 1994. The design of the barrage was entrusted to the Central Water Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources, with funding by the World Bank under Haryana Water Resources Consolidation Project.

The project, which is being supervised by the Haryana Irrigation Department, was awarded to the private sector Hindustan Construction Company through the competitive bidding process. Dua said the government would construct a Western Yamuna Channel link channel, with a length of about 3.88 km and head discharge of 25,000 cusecs, at a cost of Rs 28 crore. Three leading companies -- Larsen and Toubro, Gammon India Ltd and Hindustan Construction Company -- have already submitted financial bids for the project. The contract is expected to be project is expected to be awarded later this month.