Taking a tough stand over issues of river Mahanadi with Chhattisgarh, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi has urged the Union Government to immediately constitute an Inter-State Tribunal for adjudication of complaints filed in this regard.
Chief Secretary Padhi in a letter to the Union Water Resources Secretary Amarjit Singh has categorically pointed out that the water disputes in respect of the Mahanadi and its valley cannot be resolved by negotiations.
The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) had set up a Negotiation Committee on inter State river Mahanadi and its valley for sorting out the disputes between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
However, Odisha, time and again, had made it clear that as the Chhattisgarh Government is taking unilateral decisions for putting barrages on the upstream of the river Mahandi without consulting the riparian State, disputes cannot be resolved through negotiations.
In the meantime, the MoWR has wound up the Negotiation Committee after two meetings were held.
Padhi said that this was the demand of the Odisha Government to wind up the Negotiation Committee.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last month had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct the Chhattisgarh Government to stop construction of barrages on the Mahanadi and ensure free flow of water to the State.
Odisha is against construction of barrages in the upstream of the river as these would affect interests of the farmers.
Patnaik requested to set up an Inter State Tribunal to resolve the dispute, over Odisha’s claim that Chhattisgarh has been supplying water to industries instead of using it for drinking and irrigation purpose.
And recently, all on a sudden, the Chhattisgarh Government opened 46 gates of Kalma barrage without informing the Odisha Government, which further strained the relationship of both the neighbours.
The State Government vehemently opposed such a move and brought it to the notice of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
While both the States were locked in a face-off recently over non-release of water from the barrage by the Chhattisgarh Government, the latest decision to empty the reservoir following widespread rains in the upstream of Hirakud Dam Reservoir (HDR) has created concern for Odisha.
Sources say the neighbouring Government’s unilateral action not only makes Hirakud dam vulnerable, but also threatens flooding of areas downstream at a later stage.
Under this backdrop, the State Government had requested the MoWR to set up the Tribunal, as after the decision to wind up the Negotiation Committee, it is unambiguously clear that water dispute issues raised by the State Government cannot be resolved by negotiation, pointed out a senior official in Department of Water Resources.
As the Mahanadi and its valley is a lifeline for the people of Odisha, any further delay in constitution of an adjudicatory mechanism would give unfair advantage to Chhattisgarh adversely affecting rights and interests in Odisha, pointed out Padhi.