Bhubaneswar: A day after Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi stated that he favoured an “amicable” settlement of the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, Thursday questioned whether the state government has withdrawn from the legal route.
After a high-level meeting Wednesday, Majhi said that since the efforts being made to resolve the problem in the Central Water Commission are progressing slowly, it can be amicably resolved through negotiations between both states with the support of the central government, according to a CMO statement.
Taking to social media, Patnaik, who is also a former chief minister during whose tenure the Mahanadi Water Tribunal was formed, said, “People deserve answers. Yesterday, Hon’ble CM Mohan Charan Majhi chaired a high-level meeting on the long-standing Mahanadi water dispute. As per the official press release and a post by the Advocate General, the focus was on resolving the issue through mutual agreement.”
“But this raises some serious questions that cannot be brushed aside. What is the ‘mutual agreement’ being discussed? Mahanadi is Odisha’s lifeline. The state’s BJP government must urgently convene an all-party meeting to explain what kind of compromise is being considered or already decided with the BJP government in Chhattisgarh,” he added.
Asking whether Odisha is withdrawing from the legal route, Patnaik said, “Will the state continue pursuing the case before the #Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal? Or is the government preparing to abandon the legal fight?”
Noting that there are only eight days until the next hearing of the tribunal August 2, the BJD president raised questions on the state’s “silence”.
“Why is there silence? Why hasn’t the government taken stakeholders, political parties, and the people into confidence? Is the state’s BJP government secretly negotiating a settlement with another BJP govt, potentially to undermine #Odisha’s water rights?” Patnaik asked.
Asserting that Mahanadi is not just a river, but the soul of Odisha, the former chief minister said that there must be transparency and accountability.
He also noted the chronology of the Mahanadi dispute and how a tribunal was formed after negotiations failed to reach any conclusion.
“It may be recalled that January 23, 2018, the Hon’ble Supreme Court directed the central government to constitute the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, following the then state government’s petition under the ISRWD Act, 1956, seeking adjudication of the dispute,” he said.
He said the BJD’s consistent efforts and strong public pressure eventually led the Union cabinet to approve the formation of the tribunal. Subsequently, March 12, 2018, the central government officially constituted the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, headquartered in New Delhi, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, Patnaik said.
“However, today, there is growing concern that the legal battle, so painstakingly pursued, is being quietly weakened,” Patnaik alleged, adding that the government has not clarified what kind of “mutual compromise” it is now exploring, nor has it taken the people into confidence.
“Has the legal route been abandoned? Is Odisha’s rightful claim on Mahanadi water being diluted behind closed doors? These are questions that demand urgent and transparent answers,” Patnaik said in the social media posts.
After the meeting Wednesday, Advocate General Pitambar Acharya, in an X post, had said, “Participated in the high level meeting chaired by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha Sri @MohanMOdisha ji on Mahanadi water dispute matter to explore possibilities of amicable settlement between the two states as per the directions of the tribunal during the last hearing.”
PTI
