BHUBANESWAR: Chhattisgarh government had not obtained consent of the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) for the irrigation projects it had constructed at the upper catchment area of Mahanadi river.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said that the MWDT was constituted on March 12, 2018 to adjudicate and settle the dispute on Mahanadi river waters between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. He said that in case of basins where a tribunal has been constituted for the first time, prior consent of the tribunal concerned is necessary for techno-economic clearance of projects.
The Union Minister, however, said that techno-economic clearance can be considered for those projects for which an agreement is reached among the co-basin states under intimation to the tribunal. As of now, there is no agreement between the two states for these projects. Further, consent of the MWDT for these projects was also not available, he said and added that these projects have not been cleared.
The Minister said nine projects of Chhattisgarh in Mahanadi basin, the Hasdeo Bango, Shivnath Diversion, Jonk Diversion, Mahanadi reservoir project (Ravi Shankar Sagar), Minimata, Kelo project, Kharung, Sutiapat and Maniyari tank have got approval from the technical advisory committee of the erstwhile Water Resources Ministry and Planning Commission.
However, four projects, Hansdeo Bango, Shivnath Diversion, Jonk Diversion, Mahanadi reservoir and Minimata had been completed before the formation of the tribunal. But the rest five projects are yet to be completed, he added.