Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the all-party high-level meeting on the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the opposition BJD Saturday asked the BJP government in the state five questions on the issue.
Addressing a press conference here, BJD deputy leader in Odisha Assembly Prasanna Acharya described the Mahanadi as the lifeline of Odisha.
The BJD’s five questions are: What are the terms and conditions of the proposed out-of-court settlement? Whether the Odisha government intends to withdraw the case from the Mahanadi Tribunal? Will the government take the major political parties and Mahanadi Bachao Andolan organisations into confidence before negotiations?.
The BJD also asked will the Chhattisgarh government halt the construction of barrages on the upstream of the Mahanadi and its tributaries during settlement talks?, And will the state government move the tribunal to expedite the long-pending case?.
Describing the Mahanadi as the lifeline of Odisha, the senior BJD leader expressed concern and alleged that there was a continuous attempt to restrict the natural flow of the Mahandi for which the people living in the downstream are suffering.
The BJD leader accused Chhattisgarh’s BJP government of constructing multiple barrages upstream without Odisha’s consent, thus violating inter-state river water norms.
Acharya said that the people of Odisha want a clarification from the “triple engine government” (BJP govt in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Centre) on the Mahanadi water dispute.
The opposition party claimed that the construction of barrages and wires on the upstream of the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh side, has severely impacted agriculture, ecology, and livelihoods of people in Odisha.
“We are worried over the silence of the Central government and the Central Water Commission when Chhattisgarh have been constructing projects in the upstream of Mahandi,” he said.
The BJD leader also alleged that a large volume of Mahanadi water is being diverted to private industries under the pretext of irrigation.
Replying to Acharya’s allegation, senior BJP MLA Jaynarayan Mishra said, “What was the previous BJD government doing in the last 24 years when Chhattisgarh constructed barrages on the Mahanadi? They have done nothing to prevent Chhattisgarh, and are now raising questions.”
Mishra said that the state government was trying to resolve the dispute through both legal and political negotiations.
The central government formed the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) in 2018 to resolve the long-standing water-sharing conflict between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Odisha has all along been complaining that water flow in the Mahanadi has substantially reduced during the non-monsoon season due to the construction of projects by Chhattisgarh.
The Odisha government, on December 10, constituted an all-party high-level committee for amicable resolution of the Mahanadi water dispute. The committee, to be headed by Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, will have one member each from the opposition BJD and Congress.
The committee meeting is scheduled to be held on December 22, sources said.
PTI