BHUBANESWAR: IN a major respite to Odisha Government, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved formation of a tribunal for adjudication of the dispute over Mahanadi river water with only two days remaining for the Supreme Court deadline to expire. The tribunal will be constituted as per the provisions of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act (ISRWD), 1956.The Cabinet meeting presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi decided that the tribunal will determine water sharing among basin States on the basis of overall availability of water in the complete Mahanadi basin, contribution of each State, present utilisation of water resources in each State and the potential for future development.
With the approval for formation of the tribunal by the Union Cabinet, Odisha’s demand over its ongoing dispute with Chhattisgarh on Mahanadi water has been met. However, there is no word on the State Government’s another major demand to ask Chhattisgarh Government to stop all construction activities on the upper catchment of the river.
The tribunal will consist of a chairman and two other members nominated by the Chief Justice of India from amongst the judges of Supreme Court and High Court. Besides, services of two assessors who are water resources experts having experience in handling sensitive water-related issues will be provided to advise the tribunal in its proceedings.
As per the provisions of the Act, the tribunal is required to submit its report and a decision within three years which can be extended to a further period not exceeding two years due to unavoidable reasons. Major political parties have welcomed the decision of the Union Cabinet. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said the approval given by the Cabinet is welcome.
He, however, maintained that the dispute between the two States should be resolved through negotiation. “I still hold the view that the dispute should be settled through discussion,” he said.
BJD Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya and president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Prasad Harichandan said the Centre should ask the Chhattisgarh Government to stop construction of barrages on the river.
Expressing displeasure over the Centre’s unclear stand on the dispute, the apex court had directed the Centre on January 23 to constitute a tribunal within a month to resolve the matter. A division bench of Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao had rejected the arguments of the Centre that there was no need for an exclusive tribunal to resolve the Mahanadi river water sharing dispute and directed the Centre to begin the process for constitution of a tribunal.
Odisha Government has been demanding constitution of the tribunal for the last one year after negotiations at Chief Ministers’ level attended by Naveen Patnaik, Raman Singh and the then Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on September 17, 2016. The meeting between the Chief Secretaries of both the States failed to find out any solution.