BHUBANESWAR: The Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) on Saturday once again deferred its hearing on the interim application of the state government seeking a stay on construction and operation of barrages being built by Chhattisgarh government on Mahanadi river to August 3.
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The tribunal also asked Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments to submit reports and necessary document relating to sharing of Mahanadi river water by October 19.
“The tribunal informed about the appointment of an assessor. This will be followed by ground visits and meetings between the technical teams and Advocate General of both the states. It will hear the matter on August 3,” said Advocate General Ashok Parija.
The tribunal has also fixed October 19 as the date for hearing the counter of Chhattisgarh government to the Odisha government’s interim application. The Chhattisgarh government in its application has sought directions from the tribunal on equal sharing of water among the riparian states.
While hearing the interim application of the state, the tribunal had directed the two state governments to find an amicable solution to the dispute after determining the flow of water to the downstream.
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It had also directed the Odisha government to measure the flow of water to the state during June while fixing the next date of hearing to July 13.
After several rounds of meetings between the technical teams and Advocate General of the two states, there was no outcome.
The tribunal gave a last chance to the states to have a final round of discussion to settle the dispute which never came.
A three-judge bench of the tribunal comprising Chairperson AM Khanwilkar, Justice Rabi Ranjan and Justice Indermeet Kaur deferred the hearing till July 13 after the Advocate Generals of both the states submitted that the meeting for amicable settlement of the interim application as suggested could not be held due to extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani that hit Odisha on May 3 leaving a trail of devastation.
In its interim application before the tribunal last year, the state government had demanded release of 1.74 million acre-feet of water by Chhattisgarh during the non-monsoon season.
In December 2018, the tribunal hearing the interim application had directed the state to file an affidavit regarding volume of rainwater flow in Mahanadi during the last 20 years.