Mahanadi Water Dispute: Tribunal’s Field Visit To Odisha Begins Today

Bhubaneswar: The Mahanadi River Water Disputes Tribunal is  beginning its ten-day field survey in Odisha from Jharsuguda on Friday. The members of the tribunal, led by Justice A M Khanwilkar, are scheduled to visit at least 30 locations during the survey in Odisha.

The tribunal, which is slated to conduct its field survey in the state till May 28, will start its visit from Hirakud on Saturday and conclude with an inspection of Mahanadi delta system, according to in-charge chief engineer of inter-state water issues, Adikand Patra. The team will visit Hirakud Dam and Mahanadi catchment area till May 23.

The team has already conducted its first phase of field survey in Chhattisgarh and is now visiting Odisha for the second round of field visits in an effort to resolve the dispute over Mahanadi river water sharing between the two states. Chhattisgarh had urged the tribunal to visit 15 places in the state, sources said.

In Odisha, the tribunal will visit the Chipilima power station, location of the proposed IB Valley, Tikarapada dam site, Chilika lake, its river mouth and barrages in on Birupa and Mahanadi rivers. The team will also assess water flow in Daya, Bhargavi and Kushabhadra rivers which form part of Mahanadi delta. The team will also visit Naraj barrage site in Cuttack.

The tribunal had earlier completed its field visit to Chhattisgarh in two phases from April 18 to May 3 and assessed river water storage in major reservoirs including Ravishankar reservoir, Murumsilli dam and Minimata dam. It also visited six industrial barrages, including Rajiv Samoda, Basantpur and Kalma on the main Mahanadi river.

Officials in Odisha are of the view that industrial barrages in Chhattisgarh including Kamla are responsible for considerable decline in the flow of water in Odisha side of Mahanadi river during non-monsoon seasons.

The state government also contends that the water storage in the dams constructed by Chhattisgarh also affected the flow of water in Mahanadi river.

After completing the field visits, the tribunal will prepare the common information format after which its work will be expedited.