Centre Forms 3-Member Mahanadi Tribunal

Photograph: Suprakash Mishra

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Three weeks after the approval by the Union Cabinet, the Centre on Monday formed a three-member Mahanadi Tribunal in line with the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 to set aside the Mahanadi river water sharing disputes between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

A notification to this effect was issued by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

With its headquarters in New Delhi, the Tribunal will have three members nominated by the Chief Justice of India.

While Justice AM Khanwilkar of the Supreme Court is the Chairman, Dr Justice Ravi Ranjan of the Patna High Court and Justice Indermeet Kaur Kochhar of the Delhi High Court are the two other members of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal has been constituted following orders of the Supreme Court on January 23, 2018 in a suit filed by the Odisha Government which had sought to refer the water dispute regarding the inter-state river Mahanadi and its river valley to a Tribunal for adjudication under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.

As per provisions of the ISRWD Act, 1956, the Tribunal will submit its report within three years. If necessary, the tenure of the Tribunal can be extended to a maximum two years.

It will determine water sharing among the basin states on the basis of the overall availability of water in the complete Mahanadi basin, contribution of each state, the present utilization of water resources in each state and the potential for future development.

It is expected that with the adjudication of the dispute by the Tribunal, the long-standing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh on sharing of Mahanadi River water will come to a final settlement.