Talks Between Odisha, AP Fail: Bansadhara Tribunal To Hear Case On March 6

New Delhi: The Bansadhara River Water Disputes Tribunal on Tuesday was informed that the meeting of the joint technical team comprising representatives of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to resolve the row over the sharing of river water has remained inconclusive.

“The technical teams of both the states had met on January 28 but they failed to arrive at a consensus,” Y. Rajgopal, a senior lawyer of Andhra Pradesh, told the media.

He said that the Tribunal, which heard the views presented by both the states, will hear the case on Wednesday.

The Tribunal, on January 22 this year, had asked both the states to set up a joint technical committee to resolve the issue. It had also directed the committee to submit a joint report on the basis of which it would have a series of hearings on March 5 and 6 and then on April 2, 3 and 4.

It may be mentioned here that the Odisha government had filed a review petition on the verdict of Bansadhara River Water Disputes Tribunal on September 13, 2017, which was in favour of the Andhra Pradesh government. Hearing the petition on December 5, 2018, Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Mukumdakam Sharma and two members of the Tribunal had decided to go on a field visit to the affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The Odisha government had earlier filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court directing the Andhra Pradesh government to use the Bansadhara River water after it reaches 8000 cusecs and above, take the necessary steps to stop artificial flooding and provide compensation to displaced families.