Bhubaneswar: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai Sunday asserted that the Mahanadi water dispute with Odisha is likely to be resolved “very soon” as the Centre is working in that direction.
Sai, who is on a two-day visit to Odisha, made the remarks upon his arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here.
“There is no more a dispute situation over the Mahanadi water distribution matter. There is a BJP government both in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and an NDA government at the Centre. Therefore, the matter will be resolved very soon,” Sai told reporters.
“Both of us have given consent to the Centre that we will accept whatever decision is taken by the Central Water Commission with regard to the Mahanadi issue,” he said.
The Chhattisgarh CM went straight to his Odisha counterpart Mohan Charan Majhi’s residence from the airport.
Sai’s visit assumes significance, as the meeting between the two chief ministers is taking place ahead of the next hearing of the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal September 28.
The technical teams of both Chhattisgarh and Odisha are also scheduled to hold its next meeting September 21 to deliberate on the Mahanadi water distribution between the two states.
On July 30, the two CMs had met in New Delhi over the issue in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister C R Patil.
Emerging from the meeting, Majhi had said he was optimistic that the Mahanadi water dispute is likely to be resolved before Diwali.
The water dispute between the two states has been continuing since over a decade, as Odisha alleged that the free flow of the river Mahanadi was blocked by construction of barrages and weirs in the upstream by Chhattisgarh to provide water to industries.
Chhattisgarh, on its part, claimed that the state takes its share of the river water and nothing more. It also alleged that Odisha failed to utilise the water available to it.
Subsequently, the central government formed the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal in 2018.