Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, July 21: The state government Thursday strongly criticised Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh’s comment that the concern over construction of barrages and dams over River Mahanadi is “politically motivated” and said raising an issue affecting the state’s people cannot be called “political”.
Industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra said, “It is not political to raise an issue affecting the people of the state. How did Chhattisgarh carry out construction of barrages and dams unilaterally without consulting Orissa? We will not compromise with the interests of the state.”
The industries minister also said that Singh’s statement that the Chief Minister of Orissa has never raised this issue with Chhattisgarh government “is not based on facts”.
When asked if the state government is considering a legal course on the matter to protect the interests of the people of Orissa, Mishra said, “We have approached the Centre as well as the Central Water Commission (CWC) and at present we do not have any such plan. We may go for an amicable settlement over the issue.”
Raman Singh had Wednesday rejected Orissa’s objection to the construction in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh. “CM Patnaik never raised these issues with Chhattisgarh. The concerns are politically motivated and not based on facts and figures. The inter-state sharing of water is a sensitive issue and should not be used for political gains,” the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister had said.
Earlier, Patnaik had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention to stop these constructions by the Chhattisgarh government.
Mahanadi is the “lifeline” of Orissa as the fate of 65 per cent of the state’s population is dependent on it, wrote Patnaik who also raised the matter in the inter-state council meeting held at New Delhi earlier this month.
The industries minister said two new projects — Pairy-Mahanadi Intra State Link Project and Tandula Reservoir Augmentation Scheme on Mahanadi river project — will severely affect the flow of water in Hirakud reservoir of Orissa. This apart, the Chhattisgarh government is also contemplating construction of a reservoir based dam in River Kelo adjacent to the Orissa border.