Odisha & Chhattisgarh Asked To Parley Again To Resolve Mahanadi Water Row

Bhubaneswar: The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal on Saturday directed both Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments to hold another round of talks to resolve the water sharing dispute amicably.

The Odisha Government had petitioned the court demanding release of 1.74 million acre-feet of water by Chhattisgarh during the non-monsoon season.

The next hearing is on May 11.

This is for the third time that the Tribunal has asked the two government to hold discussions to resolve the row.

The Tribunal, which was earlier scheduled to give its verdict on the issue on March 9, had deferred it to March 30 and asked the two state governments to hold another round of meetings to arrive at an amicable solution.

The three-member bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Ravi Ranjan and Indermit Kaur had also directed the advocate generals of both states to resolve the issue and submit a report before March 30.

Earlier on February 9, the Tribunal has asked both the governments to amicably resolve the water-sharing row. While hearing the interim application of the Odisha government, the three-member bench of Tribunal had directed both states to file a written submission in two weeks.

The bench had made it clear that if the two states do not arrive at an amicable solution, it will pronounce a final judgment at the next hearing on March 9.

Acting on the directive of the Tribunal, both the states held two meetings, on February 25 and 26. However, the meeting remained inconclusive.

The Odisha government, through an affidavit, had contended 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.

The Tribunal, while hearing Odisha government’s interim petition on December 15, had sought, through an affidavit, details on the volume of rainwater flow into the Mahanadi in the last 20 years within two weeks.