Bhubaneswar: After failing to have its way in the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, the state government is preparing to move the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) soon.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government will file petitions in the Supreme Court and NGT either in the first or second week of November against Centre and Chhattisgarh government over construction of various projects on the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi.
“We will appeal in the Supreme Court in the first or second week of November for immediate stoppage of all construction activities at upper catchment area of Mahanadi and formation of a tribunal to resolve the matter. We will go to all forums for our rights,” BJD spokesperson PK Deb said here Sunday.
The serious environment threats posed by the barrage projects of Chhattisgarh will also be challenged in the NGT as Mahanadi provides a huge ecological balance to the disaster-prone state.
Mahanadi delta also houses unique biodiversity hotspots like the Chilika Lake, Bhitarkanika, Satkosia and Gahirmata.
“We will give details about the projects which the Chhattisgarh government has taken up in the past few years and their adverse environmental impacts,” Deb added.
However, Chhattisgarh water resources minister Brijmohan Agarwal said that Orissa government will not succeed even if it takes the legal recourse. “The weightage of Chhattisgarh is more than Orissa. They do not want a solution to the issue. They are only politicising the matter,” Agarwal claimed.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Orissa Assembly Narasingha Mishra criticised the Chhattisgarh government. He said, “The statement of the minister (Brijmohan Agarwal) is quite unfortunate. If the Centre and state government fail to protect the interests of the state, we will move the court.”
Orissa had demanded stoppage of construction by Chhattisgarh at the tripartite meeting chaired by Union water resources minister Uma Bharati at New Delhi in September. The chief ministers of both Orissa and Chhattisgarh had attended the meeting.
The state government had also sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the PM is yet to take any action in the dispute.
Post News Network
