After two days’ pandemonium, the State Assembly on Friday held a day-long discussion on various issues relating to the Mahanadi dispute, including delay in making tribunal functional, and resolved to convey the House’s concern and consensus to the concerned Ministry.
As announced on Thursday, the Question Hour was suspended and a Motion was brought by Government Chief Whip Amar Prasad Satpahty for a discussion on the Mahanadi issues.
Keeping his view, Satpathy said the water flow in the Mahanadi was reduced by 79.37 per cent last year compared to the year 2005 due to six barrages constructed upstream the river by the Chhattisgarh Government for which two-third population of Odisha dependent on the river for irrigation, drinking water and fishing have been affected.
“The Union Government, though has constituted a tribunal, has not yet informed the Odisha Government about terms of references of the tribunal. While the tribunal has not yet been functional, the Chhattisgarh Government has floated a tender for construction of another barrage named ‘Mahamela’. The Chhattisgarh Government has also flouted the National Green Tribunal’s observation of not advancing of ongoing construction works and constructing new barrages. The Union Government has knowingly delayed making the tribunal functional in order to help the election-bound BJP Government at Chhattisgarh,” he alleged.
leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra too blamed the Union Government for delaying the process and said the Centre has a ‘malafide’ intention behind it.
He too slammed the State Government for not convening two Mahanadi Committee meetings, one headed by the Chief Minister and the other by the Assembly Speaker, since their inception. “Had the Committee met, we could have taken opinions of experts vis-à-vis functioning of the tribunal,” he said.
Stating that a senior BJP leader once stated that people of Odisha would get sufficient water in the Mahanadi in six months if the BJP is voted to power in the State, Mishra said it was a threat to both people of Odisha and the State Government, but the latter has not taken serious note of it.
BJP legislature Party leader KV Singh Deo slammed the State Government for not convening committee meetings and sharing information with the Opposition parties.
“We have made our stand clear that our party will fight for the people’s right, farmers’ interest and protection of every drop of the Mahanadi water,” he stated.
Among other members, Tara Prasad Bahinipati, laxman Munda, Sanjay Dasburma, Dr Raseswari Panigrahi, Dr Prafulla Majhi, Ved Prakash Agrawal, Rohit Pujari, Pradeep Purohit, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Debi Prasad Mishra and Rabi Narayan Naik participated.
In his reply, Water Resources Minister Niranjan Pujari said the water flow in the Mahanaid has declined due to the barrages, particularly the Kalama barrage, constructed by Chhattisgarh in violation of norms. Stating that a tribunal can’t be made functional without terms of references, he appealed to the House to put pressure on the Union Government for early functioning of the tribunal constituted on March 12 this year.
However, the Speaker had to adjourn the House six times from 4.48 pm to 6.15 pm amid din to decide at an all-party meeting as to whether the consensus made during the debate would be passed in a form of resolution. Finally, the Speaker announced that the concern and consensus of the House would be conveyed to the concerned offices of the Union Government.