Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has apprised the Mahanadi Tribunal that Chief Secretary and Water Resources secretary will represent the state in the case.
As required by the Tribunal, the state government has already sent names of the two representatives– Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi and Water Resources secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.
According to sources, the Tribunal will soon send a notice to the Odisha government following which the latter will assign advocate-on-record and other advocates.
“Tribunal’s work has begun. Odisha government has assigned Chief Secretary and Water Resources secretary as representatives. Very soon the Tribunal will notify us,” Jena said.
Meanwhile, the Tribunal has opened its office on the 5th floor of the Janpath Bhawan at Connaught place in New Delhi.
On the other hand, while the Centre has submitted the Terms of Reference (TOR) to the Chairman of the Tribunal, Odisha government is yet to receive the same.
“We have not received the Terms of Reference which will further delay the process of resolving the Mahanadi issue,” BJD vice-president, Debi Prasad Mishra said.
Congress leader Taraprasad Bahinipati, on the other hand, said, “ the state is not trying to get the ToR which is extremely condemnable.”
Meanwhile, BJP has urged other political parties to refrain from politics over the Mahanadi issue.
“The state will soon get the ToR. There shouldn’t be any politics on the issue,” Odisha BJP General Secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said.