Bhubaneswar: In the wake of Centre’s failure to constitute a tribunal to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute between the Orissa and Chhattisgarh, the Assembly Committee on Mahanadi dispute headed by Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat will hold its meeting Thursday to decide the state’s future course of action.
However, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra wouldn’t be attending the panel meeting.
Amat had formed the panel in the last winter session of the Assembly. The committee has 16 members from BJD, BJP and Congress.
The House committee headed by the Speaker had earlier decided to meet the President of India to raise Orissa’s concern before him seeking immediate formation of tribunal and necessary instruction to Chhattisgarh to stop its unilateral construction of barrages and dams in the Mahanadi upstream till the matter is resolved.
Meanwhile, the decision of Mishra not to attend the meeting has raised questions about proper coordination among the panel members over such a sensitive issue. Speaking to Orissa POST, Mishra said that he was just informed about the date of the meeting, but was not consulted about the date of the meeting.
He, however, clarified that there is no rift among members of the panel and he won’t be able to attend the meeting as he would be in Bolangir and would be occupied with some other important works on the day.
PNN
