Mahanadi Row: NGT Asks Chhattisgarh To Submit Details By August 20

Photograph: Suprakash Mishra

Bhubaneswar: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday said that the final hearing on the dispute over the sharing of Mahanadi river water between Odisha and Chhattisgarh will be held on August 20.

The Tribunal made the announcement after hearing the petition filed by social activist Sudarsan Das.

It also directed the Chhattisgarh Government to submit detailed information about the number of projects it has constructed on Mahanadi so far.

In his petition, Das had requested the Tribunal to intervene in the matter and direct the neighbouring state to stop illegal construction of barrages on Mahanadi.

Talking to the media, Das said the Advocate General of Chhattisgarh, the counsel for the opposing party, sought a clarification from the Tribunal on why his application was withdrawn from New Delhi and referred to the Tribunal’s Kolkata zonal office. But the Tribunal while ignoring his plea said it will give its final hearing on the basis of the original petition, Sudarshan Das vs Union of India and others, on August 20 and directed him to comply with all the replies.