New Delhi: The Mahanadi River Water Dispute Tribunal has issued notices to the riparian states of the Mahanadi and has asked them to nominate their representations to the Tribunal which has been constituted after an order of the Supreme Court.
Besides the state government, notices have been served on states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. In the notices, these states have been asked to nominate their members by August 6 this year as per the provisions of the Inter-State Water Disputes Rules 1959.
Clause 4 of the rules bats for seeking nominations from the states for the purpose of the proceedings before it. It requires the parties to the dispute to nominate within a specified time persons to present their cases before it.
In cases where the party to the proceedings fails to nominate a representative to present its case before the Tribunal or where the representative so nominated does not appear before the Tribunal, the latter decides the case in the absence of such representatives.
The fresh direction from the judicial body came after the Tribunal issued notifications seeking assessors for the case who will be integral parts of the Tribunal. As per rules, the Tribunal may appoint two or more persons as assessors to advise it in the proceedings of the case.
The state government had moved the Supreme Court in 2017 through an injunction suit seeking directions from the court to Chhattisgarh government to stop major project works on the Mahanadi river. It had also sought a Tribunal to adjudicate on the matter. The apex court despite the reluctance of the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government ordered constitution of a Tribunal in its judgment delivered January 23 this year. More P4
Maha Tribunal asks Odisha, others to send nominations
