The State Government has no information till date about the quantum of water in the inter-State rivers being used by States in the upper catchment areas and by Odisha and the quantum going into the sea every year.
The Government has also no information regarding how many projects in inter-State rivers have been approved by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and which projects the Odisha Government has opposed. It also lacks data on the decrease in water flow due to approved projects in the States in the upper catchment areas. All this was revealed when Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday stated in the State Assembly that data are being collected on the above points. Congress MlA Naba Kishore Das had asked a question to know about the above information.
To a related question of BJD MlA Amar Prasad Satpathy, the Chief Minister said the Chhattisgarh Government has already constructed eight mega projects and 34 medium projects upstream Mahanadi, and works for four mega projects and an equal number of medium projects are under construction.
He said the Chhattisgarh Government has been buying times in providing its Mahanadi basin-related master plan to the Odisha Government.
Besides the above projects, detailed information had been sought on all proposed individual projects, small irrigation projects and the six under-construction barrage projects in the upper catchment of the Hirakud Dam. Meanwhile, the State Government has received DPRs of six projects at Kalama, Saradihi, Basantpur, Sionarayan, Mironi and Samoda, and they are being examined, Patnaik said.
Patnaik said the Government has planned to construct some mega and medium irrigation projects in the lower catchment area of the Hirakud Dam and on some tributaries of Mahanadi. Of them, construction of projects as Manjore, lower Indra, lower Suktel, Reta and Dhauragotha, he said.
Similarly, survey works for projects like Anga, Brutanga, Upper lantha, Kutilisinga, Tel Integrated, Khadag, Utei Raula, Jeera, Upper Udanti, Ranjore, Ahirajora, laxmipathar Nala, Brahmanipada and Salaki are underway. Of these, land acquisition for Anga Bandha has been completed and CWC permissions have been available for Brutanga and Upper lantha projects. Besides, the CWC has accepted DPRs of Ranajore, Jeera and Ahirajore barrage projects. DPRs for Tel Integrated, laxmipathar Nala and Upper Udanti projects have been sent to the CWC for approval, the Chief Minister said.