The Government of Chhattisgarh is constructing seven dams over the Mahanadi and its tributaries, which is quite unethical and unlawful. Every natural resource, especially a river, cannot be monopolised by any individual or a State for its narrow commercial interest at the cost of others. If the seven river dams are constructed and operated, a major portion of the water will go to Chhattisgarh leaving scant for Odisha.
The Mahanadi is an interstate river, which originates from Amarkantak plateau of Chhattisgarh and joins the Bay of Bengal in Odisha; hence major basin areas of the river come under the Odisha State. Besides, the river has a total catchment areas of 1, 40,716 sqkm, out of which 75,136 sqkm is in Chhattisgarh and 65,580 sqkm is in Odisha. The catchment area means, the area from which the water is collected through natural process flowing down within a stream of water till it meets the ocean. The river has a total length of 852.8 km from its origin to delta head; but it covers 107 km from its upper point of delta to its delta mouth. This supports the lives of major biodiversities of the coastal plains of Odisha, besides the basins of the river.
It is not understood, whether our politicians fully understand the definition of a river, otherwise such things would not have occurred.
Every river is a stream tree like a plant. Every plant has root systems and branches and branchlets. Similarly, a river has sub-tributaries, tributaries and mainstream like root systems of a plant. Again every river has branches, sub-branches and branchlets akin to a tree. The Mahanadi stream tree includes 43 tributaries and sub- tributaries and also 20 branches and sub-branches, which flow within the limits of Odisha. If seven dams, excluding major dams like Peri-Mahanadi interstate joint project and Tandula project, are established, most of the water of the river will be used by Chhattisgarh and Odisha will draw a blank. Odisha will be bound to suffer economically and ecologically as a result of this.
The Hirakud dam was established just at the foothill of the Eastern Ghat hill range and almost at the baseline of Chhattisgarh State boundary. The dam will suffer most in want of adequate water supply.
The dam has created an artificial lake in its upstream side covering about 52.8 km from the Hirakud. This becomes the main source of livelihood of thousands of families. Besides, it provides opportunities for irrigation of 35,486 hectares of land and having capacity to generate 4, 75,000 KW hydel power. There are no major tributaries in Odisha side to feed the reservoir of Hirakud for sustainable management of the hydel project except the Ib river, because other tributaries of Odisha join the mainstream of the Mahanadi after the location of such dam. The major tributary of Mahanadi is Tel river, which joins the mainstream of the Mahanadi near Subarnapur. So the fate of Hirakud dam will be uncertain, which should attract the notice of highest forum of judiciary as well as the Water Resource Department of the Government of India, besides that of the Central Water Resource Board.
In a democratic country every unit of administration, big or small, should follow certain guidelines for equal justice to all. But the Chhattisgarh State administration violates all norms and terms of democratic process of the country taking arbitrary decisions to arrest the river streams of Mahanadi at different points for narrow gain. It is admitted that the people of Chhattisgarh have equal rights to utilise water and water resources, but the way Chhattisgarh is working it out is faulty and condemnable.
Nearly 55 per cent of river flow of Mahanadi is
coming within the State of Chhattisgarh and rest flow length of the river is coming within the State of Odisha. Similarly a total of 12 major tributaries out of 43 in the upstream of Hirakud are coming in the State of Chhattisgarh. If all such dams and two interstate river linking projects, (total nine projects) are implemented, the position of Odisha will be precarious for water, because the Mahanadi is the lifeline of western as well as eastern Odisha. So the Central Government as well as the State Government of Chhattisgarh should realise this point.
The Andhra Pradesh Government is constructing the Polavaram Project just at the foothills of the Eastern Ghat and at the edge of common State boundary of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The project is constructed on the downstream of river Godavari, which ultimately drains into the Bay of Bengal through Andhra Pradesh. Not only the Godavari, other Eastern Ghat rivers like Bahuda, Vasnsadhara and Nagavali flow down to the Bay of Bengal through Andhra Pradesh. Indravati is a major tributary of Godavari. Total 11 tributaries of the rivers are drained in to Bay of Bengal, where the gateway is Andhra Pradesh and through the streams of Eastern Ghat. The State Government of Andhra Pradesh, being re-enforced with the strength of the Union Government, is constructing the mega water project Polavarm, where thousands of forest lands will be submerged and thousands of families of forest dwellers will be de-homed driving many into destitution.
The Union Government also plans to interlink Odisha river systems with the rivers of Andhra Pradesh. If all these three plans of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Government of India work out, the distributaries, particularly of branches, sub- branches of the Mahanadi, will go dry. And, the coastal plains of Odisha will be hit hard.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)