Though Chhattisgarh has agreed on setting up a Joint Control Board (JCB) to discuss issues related to Mahanadi with neighbouring Odisha, the Odisha Government seems to have decided to escalate the issue as the ruling BJD on Monday said its workers would stop goods trains going to Chhattisgarh for half-an-hour on Wednesday.
“We will stop all goods trains to Chhattisgarh for half-an-hour on August 3. We want to show that we can also follow the route the Chhattisgarh Government has adopted,” BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said in Bhubaneswar.
Chhattisgarh’s BJP Government has termed the BJD decision Rs unfortunate’ and reiterated that it was committed to work on a mechanism with the BJD Government to find a solution to the Mahanadi row.
Chhattisgarh Government claims that it uses just 25 percent of Mahanadi’s water as of now though the river passes roughly 80 percent of its flow length in Chhattisgarh and just remaining 20 percent in Odisha.
Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand said that the State has always abided by the inter-state river water sharing norms and has used limited Mahanadi water without hurting Odisha's interest. Dhand urged the officials of Odisha to provide information regarding use of Mahanadi water and projects operational on the river there.
He said that Odisha and Chhattisgarh are neighbouring states with common interest and detailed information by both the states regarding the Mahanadi issue will definitely help in solving the matter.
Meanwhile unfazed by Chhattisgarh Government’s commitment to find an amicable solution to the row, the BJD said on Monday that the protest would continue till the Chhattisgarh Government stops all construction works being carried out “illegally”. On Chhattisgarh’s proposal of setting up a Joint Control Board (JCB) to resolve the Mahanadi issue, Deb said they (Chhattisgarh) should first stop work.
“On moral grounds, the Chhattisgarh Government must stop construction work on all ongoing projects so that we can initiate talks for formation of the JCB,” the BJD leader said and alleged that the neighbouring State has provided false information to the Centre on the projects to obtain approval.
BJD general secretary and Odisha Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said as a co-basin State, Odisha has the absolute right to be consulted before the Central Water Commission (CWC) clears any project.
“Chhattisgarh has not taken any consent from the Odisha Government before sending the proposal to Centre. We were also not invited to the meeting convened by the CWC while clearing certain projects. We were kept in absolute dark,” he said.
Supporting the earlier statement of Chief Secretary A. P. Padhi, Mishra said Chhattisgarh has not sent any letter to Odisha on the Kelo project.
The BJD supporters would also stage a relay hunger strike in front of the CWC office here protesting the central body not consulting Odisha before clearing projects for Chhattisgarh, he said.
Meanwhile, Congress on Monday invited Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to an all-party meeting tomorrow to discuss the M ahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, even as the ruling BJD had earlier rejected such proposal.
"Please attend the all-party meeting to be held at 11 AM on August 3, to discuss about the water dispute," leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra wrote to the Chief Minister Patnaik. Mishra had earlier sent two such letters to Patnaik, but there was no response. Meanwhile, other opposition parties in Odisha such as BJP, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(Ml) liberation and others have decided to attend the all-party meeting convened by Mishra.
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.
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.
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 Mahanadi water 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. Moreover, Singh said that six barrages on Mahanadi will be completed by 2017. The barrages will irrigate an additional 3,146 hectare acreage and Chhattisgarh will get extra revenue of Rs 200 crore. Eighty thousand hectares of extra acreage will be brought under cultivation every year, he stated.