Senior Congress leader and former Irrigation Minister Niranjan Patnaik on Friday suggested to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take a strong stand at the proposed tripartite meeting involving him, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh and Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati.
“I welcome your meeting with the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister under the aegis of the Union Water Resources Minister on September 17 and hope that the two States will soon be able to agree to a just solution to the sharing of Mahanadi waters,” said Patnaik in a letter to the Chief Minister.
Giving the recent example all-party meeting in Karnataka over Cauvery waters, Niranjan said an all-party delegation from Odisha should have been sent to Chhattisgarh and Delhi to present a united picture on a matter of State interest.
“Since you did not call for an all-party meeting to put forth our views or to support the State Government, I decided to write you this letter in my personal capacity as a former Minister-in-charge of the Water Resources Department,” mentioned Patnaik.
Stating that the Union Government holds the responsibility to protect the national project Hirakud and so also the Mahanadi’s catchment areas, Patnaik said, “Hirakud must not be allowed to die a silent death and the Centre must ensure that there is no obstruction in water flow in the river during Summer.”
“We must take necessary remedial measures under the law in terms of formation of the River Board with the necessary legal teeth to enforce a fair arrangement or we should request the Supreme Court to constitute a Tribunal for a just solution,” the former PCC president suggested.
In his letter, Patnaik also asked for the revival of the Manibhadra project or construction of a high-level canal on the Hirakud left Dyke to move surplus water in monsoon period to Tikira River for generating hydro-power, which then joins Bramhani and would make available additional water for irrigation.
“If Chhattisgarh has been hyper-active in using Mahanadi waters, we cannot be mute spectators. Otherwise, Chhattisgarh will keep claiming that we do not need the water as we are merely allowing them to be drained to the Bay of Bengal.”