Bhubaneswar: The first meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee formed by the Odisha government on Mahanadi inter-sate water dispute was held on Tuesday under the Chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo.
The meeting was attended by Ministers Suresh Pujari, Prithviraj Harichandan and Sampad Chandra Swain; MLAs Saroj Kumar Pradhan, Niranjan Pujari and Sofia Firdous. Senior MLA Jayanarayan Mishra participated in the meeting virtually. Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg along with the officers and engineers of Department of Water Resources were also present in the meeting to give necessary inputs to the committee.
During the meeting, preliminary discussion was held on the Hirakud Project, the historical background of the Mahanadi water dispute, the current status of proceedings before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, the process of amicable settlement of Mahanadi-related issues, and the overall status of matters pertaining to the Mahanadi basin.
It was decided that the next meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee shall be convened in January 2026 to further consolidate the position of Odisha and to advance the process towards an amicable settlement of the Mahanadi water issues with Chhattisgarh.
