Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday informed the state assembly that 16 dam and 15 barrage projects have been planned for securing sustainable water development with equity for Mahanadi waters in the interest of the state.
In a written reply to a query by BJD legislator Ranendra Pratap Swain, the chief minister said, “Due to excess unplanned use of Mahanadi water in the upstream catchment of Mahanadi basin by Chhattisgarh, flow of water to the downstream of Odisha is gradually reducing as observed at Hirakud dam site located near the interstate border of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.”
To this effect, the state has taken the shelter of the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal and filed its claims through a number of pleadings and the matter is now sub-judice, he said.
Similarly, in another written statement to the House, Majhi informed that the government has also planned to build 41 in-stream storage structures on Mahanadi river.
Prasanna Acharya, BJD deputy leader in Assembly, had raised the issue during Question Hour. Acharya said that the Chhattisgarh government has constructed 8 or 9 barrages on the upper basin area of Mahanadi river, due to which, water flow in the river at the starting point in Odisha drastically reduced during summer.
“The previous BJD government had planned several in-stream storage projects on the river and invited tenders for the same. However, we heard that the tenders have been canceled now,” the BJD leader said.
Replying to Acharya, on behalf of the CM, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling said the BJP government has been in power for the last eight months. A dam cannot be constructed in such a short period, he said. About the tender cancellation matter, Mahaling said he will look into it.
Odisha alleges that it does not receive sufficient water from the Mahanadi river during non-monsoon months as Chhattisgarh obstructs the flow of the water by constructing barrages upstream.
The previous Naveen Patnaik-led government had moved the Supreme Court in this matter in 2016. The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal was constituted in 2018, following orders of the Supreme Court. The matter is now sub-judice in the tribunal.
