The war on “water” has acquired significance at the national level with the Indus water treaty coming to the forefront in the fast-declining Indo-Pak relationship. Nearer home, Odisha is also embroiled in the politics of “water”. In both the cases, “water” has turned into a prominent cog in the wheel of politics.
The crocodiles of Satkosia or Bhitarkanika are yet to shed tears apprehending that they would get affected by the projects being set up by the Chhattisgarh Government on the Mahanadi, but it is apparent that quite a number of humans are generating a lot of “crocodile tears”. The fact that the political parties are paying lip service regarding the alleged adverse effects on the people of Odisha (stated to be caused by the projects under advanced stage of implementation in Chhattisgarh) was demonstrated by the dismal attendance of our legislators in the House when the issues relating to the Mahanadi were debated upon. Out of the 118 MlAs of the ruling party, 35 had the time for such a discussion in the august House.
Out of the 29 members of the Opposition, 17 had the time for such an occasion. The presence of the Chief Minister on the second day marginally improved the attendance of the MlAs of the ruling party. This also indicates the extent of importance, or lack of it, attached to the issues by our able legislators! No wonder, the debate was in generalities and devoid of the meat of the matter. There was no detailed discussion regarding the prevalent situation and its future impact, especially in adverse terms, on the people of Odisha.
This was not an occasion when there was any lack of support from any quarters of our State. An appeal from the Government or the ruling party was certainly not to be futile. It is not, therefore, a situation when nobody is prepared to support the measures that may be required to be implemented to safeguard the interests of Odisha. This is not a situation when one finds oneself faced with a predicament of “Jadi tor dak sune keo na ase”. It is, therefore, surprising for an overwhelmingly dominant majority ruling party to indicate that it shall go alone as the surrounding situation does not justify a clarion call of “Ekla chalo re”. Collective and cohesive action is the need of the hour. Analysis of data and framing up the issues that required debate appear to be neglected. A section of the media has also carried opinions of retired technocrats not fully backing the projected grievances of the political class.
It is not fair on the people of our State and it is also not in the interest of the State to carry on propagandist argumentation in boldly stating that the Mahanadi will be drying up, that the farmers would be in utter distress and that the financial edifice of the State shall collapse. This creates a crisis of confidence. No wonder, there are comments to the effect that the “hullabaloo” is a manifestation of diversionary tactics as the State is undergoing several socioeconomic stresses.
When the discussion on the Mahanadi in the Assembly started, the Chief Minister, as the leader of the House, was not present. He participated on the next day, but the debate has not been of an efficacious character. It has been based on generalised platitudes. Basic factual details have not been placed, urged and analysed in the Assembly. The House has not really constructively participated in formulating a strategy in the interest of the people of our State ensuring its proper implementation. There is a distorted departure from meaningful democracy. The delicate balance between the legislature and the executive has been ruptured. The fate of the Mahanadi and its related impact on the people of Odisha appear to be tending to remain within the closed cloisters of the longest Secretariat of a self-proclaimed poor State. Informed participatory decision-making is an essential feature of a democratic polity. The people are still starved of the basic information about the quantum of water that will be available to them as most of the so-called objectionable projects in Chhattisgarh are nearing completion.
Alongside, we do not have a projected plan of our own of utilisation of the share of Mahanadi water, which is legitimately due to us. We have no answer to meet the allegation that we do not reserve and conserve water and most of it flows into the sea even after occasionally causing various forms of floods. It is a failure on the part of all of us and, more so, on the part of our leaders. The leaders appear to be wily and bombastic instead of being successful argumentative. It is permissible in a democracy for any one of us to ask for the proposed actions and plan for utilisation of our legitimate share of water. This would necessitate, first, the determination of our legitimate share, and, secondly, a blueprint of the optimum utilisation of that quantum of water. The first has turned into a demand of a crybaby and the second still awaits goal-oriented cohesive action. The emphasis given by the ruling party and the Government to the environmental and ecological impacts is limiting the issues to our disadvantage. It is common knowledge that all the details are available to our Government, but access to the information is not available to analysts. It has been further alleged that there is more hype than truth. Environmental aspect is definitely limiting our genuine grievances and many vital areas are remaining in darkness. A more distressing reliable information has been that members of the legislature are repeatedly reminded by the leaders of the respective parties to be present in the House when the Mahanadi issue is under deliberation, but the response speaks more of lack of response than anything else. This by itself is our failure.
What does the voter, who is above 18 and classifiable as part of the youth force would think of this given scenarioIJ It is this age group of persons that need to be jerked out of their slumber. They need to tell their leaders, loud and clear, that we cannot be taken for a ride all the while. They can create a situation in which meaningful policies and strategies are formulated and are duly implemented. A brute majority can sometimes be a form of opiate to our legislators. It is the very future of the younger generation that is at stake. The older generation has a moral responsibility to discharge. Their indifference appears to be betraying the trust and the expectation. They could be charged with indulging in demonstrative irresponsibility. Political brinkmanship can wait for a while for ensuring fulfilment of the common cause. The stakes are high and the issues involved touch our very survival. The political parties appear to be having a melodrama out of it. This is an unfortunate situation in the year 2016. History shall not forgive us as the present day chronicle is recorded as one of the false promises, pretentious betrayals and political hoodwinking. When we pose this question to many belonging to different age groups, the response is disturbing. At least, this inconvenient situation could be utilised as an opportunity for enabling and ensuring a better future for our younger generation. But, alas, our attitude continues to be of the age-old pattern. There is organised disunity amongst us, creating fissures and fractures in our sociopolitical structure. One is almost faced with a situation of exasperatedly exclaiming, “O’ Partha awake” and then asking “what is rotten in the state called OdishaIJ” We cannot be helplessly driven into darkness. But this clarion call requires a lot of organised effort and in-depth introspection study by each section of our society. The isolationists now need to be isolated, and who can do this except all of usIJ This certainly concerns us!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former President of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)