Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 21: Under attack from opposition parties over the Mahanadi dispute, the state government seems to have landed in soup after it was revealed that it had information on seven projects, including Arpa-Bhaisajhar barrage project taken up by Chhattisgarh government on the river.
The state Water Resources Engineer-in-Chief in a letter to his Chhattisgarh counterpart this April 26 wrote that “during July 2013, it was learnt during interaction with Chhattisgarh Water Resources Department that seven barrages are under construction on Mahanadi river just upstream of Hirakud reservoir.”
The Chhattisgarh government had sent a letter July 28, 2015 enclosing the Detailed Project Report of Arpa-Bhaisajhar project, which the Engineer-in-Chief has stated to have received in his April 26, 2016 letter.
The letter also read about the analysis of the DPR by the state government on Tandula Reservoir Augmentation Scheme of the Chhattisgarh government and raises concern about the neighbouring state’s Pairy-Mahanadi intra-state link project comprising four dams on Mahanadi.
The state Water Resources Engineer-in-Chief, however, said that “actual utilization of these seven numbers of barrages have so far not been received by the state of Orissa.”
Previously, the state government had landed in a fix over a Chhattisgarh government letter to it on the Kelo project.
While the state government had accused Chhattisgarh government of getting the Kelo project approved from Central Water Commission (CWC) keeping Orissa in the dark, a Chhattisgarh letter dated December 19, 2006 had reportedly informed the state about the project.
Congress and BJP have now questioned as to why the state government remained silent if it was aware of Chhattisgarh government’s move from the past three years.
