Mahanadi Row: Naveen Urges Modi To Form River Tribunal

Photograph: Suprakash Mishra

Bhubaneswar: Keeping in view the ongoing row between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over sharing of Mahanadi river water, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a tribunal in tune with the directive of the Supreme Court.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Naveen said the Supreme Court, in its order on January 23, 2017, directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal within a month under section 4(1) of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 for adjudicating the inter-state water disputes between Odisha and Chhattisgarh in respect of the inter-state river Mahanadi and its valley.

Stating that the judgement, as a first step, has brought a sense of relief to the people of Odisha by way of protecting its age-old rights and interests in the waters of Mahanadi, the Chief Minister said 60 per cent of the population of Odisha depends on Mahanadi waters for meeting the needs of irrigation and drinking water. “Besides, the ecology and environment dependent on Mahanadi is far too important to be ignored,” he pointed out.

Urging the Prime Minister to seriously take note of the above factors, Naveen requested the Prime Minister to implement the apex court’s order with immediate effect by constituting a tribunal under section 4(1) of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, and direct the Union Water Resources Ministry to issue necessary administrative directions under Article 256 of the Constitution to Chhattisgarh government to stop construction works of the ongoing projects particularly the ongoing six barrages across the river Mahanadi.

“If construction of the ongoing works is not stopped immediately, my state would be forced to meet a situation of fait accompli frustrating the adjudication under the provisions of the Act of 1956 enacted by the Parliament pursuant to Article 262 (1) of the Constitution of India,” the Chief Minister added.