Cuttack: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the BJD government in Odisha was misleading people on Mahanadi issue.
Addressing the Jana Kalyan Samavesh at Baliyatra ground here in the afternoon, he said, “While the Centre is doing its best for the development of Odisha, the state government has been misleading the poor and the farmers. One of the glaring instances is the Mahanadi issue.”
Modi said the Odisha government had admitted in the State Assembly that more than half of the Mahanadi water is drained into the Bay of Bengal. “When the Centre tried to resolve the contentious issue, the state government backtracked. Even the then Union Water Resources minister Nitin Gadkari, in a letter to the chief minister, had suggested resolving the issue in a time-bound manner. He had even proposed formation of a tribunal which was also rejected by the state government. During its 19-year rule, the state government has not made any effort to properly utilize the Mahanadi water for the benefit of the poor farmers. Leave alone Mahanadi, it has done nothing to utilize the water of five rivers,” he pointed out.
The Prime Minister said the people of Odisha want to know as to why the Lower Indra Irrigation project, the work on which had begun 20 years ago, is yet to be completed, why there is no progress in Ret Irrigation Project in Kalahandi and Rukuda Irrigation Project in Sundargarh and why the projected cost of these two projects have been raised five times.
He also asked the state government as to why no steps have been taken to improve the livelihood of the poor farmers. “To improve the socio-economic condition of these poor farmers, the Centre has stepped up measures to facilitate them with irrigation facility. Besides, the Centre has taken up construction of four mega irrigation projects in Odisha, which would be completed next year,” he added.
Reacting to the Prime Minister remarks on Mahanadi issue, the BJD said none of these was acceptable.
Referring to mediation by Gadkari on Mahanadi issue, BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said by the time he got the water resources portfolio, hearing on Mahanadi issue was already underway in the Supreme Court. “The people of Odisha are well aware of this issue,” he noted.
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