Mahanadi Water Sharing: Tribunal Ends Hearing On Odisha Plea

New Delhi: The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal on Saturday concluded the hearing on the interim application by the Odisha government on water sharing.

The Tribunal also deferred the counter application by the Chhattisgarh government to September 28.

During the hearing, both the states informed the Tribunal that they could not do field visits due to heavy rainfall.

Notably, the Odisha government has contended in its appeal that as per the tripartite agreement on Mahanadi water sharing between Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the Centre, Chhattisgarh should release 1.74 million acre-feet of water to Odisha during the non-monsoon season. But till January 1, 2019, the neighbouring state had blocked 2.76 million acre-feet through six barrages it has built on the Mahanadi’s upstream.

However, the Chhattisgarh government had filed a counter plea to challenge Odisha’s stand.

On May 31, the Tribunal told the two governments to jointly visit the upper catchments of Mahanadi to determine the inflow of downstream water and arrive at an amicable solution.

Earlier on December 15, 2018, the Tribunal had sought an affidavit from both the states on the details of the volume of rainwater flow into Mahanadi in the last 20 years.