Sambalpur: The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, led by its new chairperson Justice Bela M Trivedi, on Friday began its crucial field assessment in Odisha, marking a significant step in resolving the long-standing inter-state river water-sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh.
The tribunal members, who arrived in the state on Thursday, inspected the Hirakud Dam, right spillway, power house facilities and the command area dependent on the reservoir on the way to Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary. The team also assessed conditions at Chiplima Power House, which plays a vital role in hydroelectric generation downstream of Hirakud, and parts of the Mahanadi river basin.
The visit is aimed at assessing Odisha’s concerns over reduced water flow into the Mahanadi during non-monsoon months, which the state alleges is due to upstream barrages and dams constructed by Chhattisgarh. The tribunal is expected to assess allocation and utilisation of stored water for irrigation, domestic supply and industrial use. Issues, pertaining to upstream river-linking projects and barrages constructed in Chhattisgarh, are also likely to come under scrutiny.
“All actions being taken are solely to protect Odisha’s interests. We are confident that through proper adjudication, the Mahanadi water issue will be resolved while fully securing the state’s rights over its waters,” Advocate General Pitambar Acharya told reporters.
According to official sources, the team will continue its five-day Odisha tour with visits to Bhubaneswar and Puri. On March 1, members will offer prayers at Shree Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar and Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri before inspecting the Kushabhadra river confluence at Ramchandi near Konark. On March 2, the final day of the visit, the tribunal will travel to Satapada jetty and Chilika Lake, including the sea mouth, before returning to Bhubaneswar.
The tribunal was constituted by the central government in March 2018 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, to resolve the long-standing water-sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Field visits form a vital component of its fact-finding efforts, allowing members to directly assess technical and environmental factors that go beyond written documentation, according sources.
The tribunal’s tenure is set to end on April 13, and Odisha has urged the Centre to extend it by another nine months to ensure completion of hearings and a final verdict.
However, the Mahanadi Bachao Andolan (MBA) has raised questions about the effectiveness of the tribunal’s visit, in the absence of high-level official engagement. Convenor Sudarsan Das also questioned the funding of ‘an expensive visit by the tribunal members and their family members’, by the state exchequer, while referring to a similar visit in May 2023 which he claimed went in vain.
In a memorandum to the tribunal chairperson, the MBA has also urged for an interim order directing the Chhattisgarh government to release the adequate quantity of water to Odisha during lean season to ensure irrigation, drinking water security and ecological balance.
