Bhubaneswar: Two days ahead of the next hearing of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) on Thursday (15 October), Odisha and Chhattisgarh officials are expected to meet on Tuesday (13 October) building a consensus in the expanded technical committee of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
The tribunal is scheduled to consider the expanded technical committee’s report during the hearing on 15 October.
There are several issues over which the two states do not agree. One of them is whether in view of the hydrological conditions of Mahanadi river, any flow during November to May can be characterised as minimum non-monsoon flow as claimed by Odisha.
Another issue is whether Chhattisgarh has the right to draw water from the storage of Hirakud reservoir from Kalma barrage constructed in the foreshore of Hirakud reservoir. If the expanded technical committee reaches a consensus, the same is likely to be placed before the Tribunal on 15 October.
The hearing comes close on the heels of a high-level meeting in New Delhi on 1 October presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Chief Ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Mohan Charan Majhi and Vishnu Deo Sai, and Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil had attended the meeting, which was aimed at finding an amicable settlement outside the Tribunal route.
Both states have agreed in principle to accept a CWC-mediated framework. Meanwhile, the BJD has demanded that Mohan Majhi convene an all-party meeting before the 13 October meeting of the expanded technical committee to discuss the stand to be taken by the Odisha government.
Party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the BJD has been demanding that the talks between the chief ministers of the two states and the discussion in the technical committee be made public. “The interests of Odisha should not be sacrificed,” he said.
