Bhubaneswar: With the completion of three years to constitution of Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal, opposition BJP and Congress Thursday slammed the government over the water dispute issue alleging that the government has failed to protect the rights of the state.
BJP leader Jaya Narayan Mishra said, “Mahanadi is flowing in my native area and Hirakud dam is also there. As per regular practice, the state government officials record the water flow into the dam through Mahanadi river.
How the state government has failed to observe the decrease in the water flow on the river following construction of barrages by Chhattisgarh?”
The state government, Mishra said, has failed to protect the rights of the state due to lack of interest and is only using it as a political issue. The tenure of the tribunal should be extended to resolve the water sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh, he added.
Senior Congress leader Santosh Singh Saluja said, “The state government has totally failed to put forth the rights of Odisha in the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal and resolve the issue.”
However, senior vice-president of BJD, Debi Prasad Mishra, said, “The tribunal is hearing the issue as per the process. Though we have expected an interim order from the tribunal to stay the construction work at barrages of Chhattisgarh, it is yet to be heard.”
Reacting to allegation levelled by the opposition, the BJD leader said they should not politicise the issue. “Let them say what more information or document the state should have put forth before the tribunal. Is there any lacunae from the state government side?”
The Centre had constituted the Mahanadi tribunal March 12, 2018. Though the three-year tenure of the tribunal has ended, it has statutory tenure for another two years.
In between, hearings have been conducted for 19 times. But, no interim order has been passed. Notably, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have filed petitions in the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal with respect to sharing of Mahanadi river water.
Odisha in its petition claimed that Chhattisgarh has constructed several barrages on the river obstructing the water flow to the state.
Odisha has sought a stay on the construction and operation of barrages being built on Mahanadi river and also for maintaining specific flow of water during the non-monsoon months, November to May.
PNN