Bhubaneswar: Expressing serious concern over the delay in resolving the Mahanadi water sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh, the Orissa government Tuesday reiterated its demand for setting up a separate tribunal to settle the nagging issue involving the two riparian states.
In a letter to Union Water Resources secretary, state Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi emphasised the need for constituting a separate tribunal under Inter-State River Water Dispute Act, 1956, to resolve the Mahanadi water sharing issue quickly and protect the interests of the lower riparian territory.
Padhi pointed out that the water from the inter-state river as well as its valley is the lifeline for the people of Orissa and any further delay in constituting an adjudicatory mechanism would give an unfair advantage to the upper riparian state of Chhattisgarh, while adversely affecting the downstream rights and interests of Orissa.
“The Chief Minister of Orissa in his letter (June, 2017) to the Prime Minister has already clarified that the water disputes in respect of inter-state river Mahanadi and its valley cannot be resolved by negotiations and has, accordingly, requested for immediate constitution of a tribunal,” the Chief Secretary wrote to the Union water resources secretary Amarjit Singh.
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