Even as Odisha and Chhattisgarh remain locked in a bitter war of words over sharing of Mahanadi river water, Chhattisgarh’s rapid pace of industrialisation will depend largely on the extent of river water which would be available for industrial units and power plants in future.

Notably, during the past two years, the Chhattisgarh Government has approved some major barrages to be built on the Mahanadi river to ensure adequate future water needs of the existing and new industrial units coming up in the State.

It the midst of dispute between the two states, the Central Government has intervened and had asked  both the states to discuss the issue at the July 29 meeting and also offered to form a Tribunal to settle the dispute if no solution could be found amicably by the two States.

Meanwhile, sample this-- The Chhattisgarh Government in January this year had given administrative sanction of Rs 3.94 crore for development and security of Saradih Barrage on Mahanadi river in Janjgir-Champa district.

The Water Resources Department had already issued necessary orders for implementing the project.

Notably, a number of existing and proposed power plant sites are located in the district which, as per Government plans, would be supplied water from the river.

There is also an agreement between Chhattisgarh Government and NTPC ltd over drawing of water for the  upcoming lara Super Thermal  Power Plant from Saradih barrage.

Notably, the  work of Saradih bridge was completed in March this year.

The Chhattisgarh government has also provided Rs 162.43 crore  approval in April this year for construction of the Shivrinarayan Barrage over Mahanadi river in Navagarh Development Block of Janjgir-Champa district.

The barrage when ready will supply water to industrial units, officials had informed.

Notably, the Chhattisgarh government also provided administrative approval last year to the Basantpur Barrage project on Mahanadi river to fulfill the water requirements of industrial units in Janjgir-Champa district.

The barrage would be constructed on Mahanadi river in Bamhdih Development Block.

As per the details available, the Barrage would span 867.5 metres with gross water storage capacity of 53.93 million cubic metres.

As per a letter of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority , Chhattisgarh dated May 22, 2014 to Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department, Bilaspur, water would be available for projects constructed downstream of the barrage.

The Basantpur barrage would be built at a cost of Rs 255.55 crore.

The Chhatisgarh Government in April this year also informed that the Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) being established at Sector 22 in Naya Raipur would receive abundant water supply from the Mahanadi river, officials stated.

Notably, the EMC has got final approval from the Central Government recently.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh had recently stated that his Government is committed towards ‘judicious distribution of Mahanadi river waters’.

The Chief Minister had said this in the context of a letter shot by Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the issue.

Singh said that Chhattisgarh Government respects all the prescribed provisions made for use of water of inter-state rivers.

He said that the Chhattisgarh Government had been making limited use of Mahanadi river waters for not affecting the interests of Odisha.

Moreover, Singh said that six barrages on Mahanadi will be completed by 2017 in a presentation made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a high-level meeting chaired by the former in New Delhi in May this year.

The barrages will irrigate an additional 3,146 hectare acreage and State will get extra revenue of Rs 200 crore.

Eighty thousand hectares of extra acreage will be brought under cultivation every year, he had stated.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh’s  MPs Abhishek Singh and Ramesh Bais  in the parliament had also strongly defended State Government's right to build projects for its development and pointed out that Odisha's share of Mahanadi water was still around 80 per cent.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in sharing of the Mahanadi river waters and dubbed his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh's statement on the issue as "most unfortunate".

On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh had stated that the Mahanadi issue was being "unnecessarily politicised" in Odisha.

"Chhattisgarh is taking water from the river after Central Water Commission's permission. In fact, we have right to more water," he had stated.