During the hearing on the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Union Ministry of Water Resources to file a detailed report by third week of January 2018, failing which the court would hear the case on the basis of merit.
During the hearing, Chhattisgarh argued against formation of a tribunal and favoured for a Joint Control Board which could resolve the dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. However, Odisha stuck to its gun for constitution of a tribunal.
The Centre had earlier informed the court to issue a notification by November 19 for formation of a tribunal. later on December 5, it filed an affidavit in the apex court and refused to constitute a tribunal. In the affidavit, it had accused the Odisha Government of not producing adequate evidence in favour of its case.
The Centre had also criticised Odisha for showing non-seriousness towards negotiations while praising Chhattisgarh for making efforts to resolve the issue.