BHUBANESWAR : The next hearing of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) has been fixed on October 15 to consider the report of the expanded technical committee of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
Official sources said both Odisha and Chhattisgarh have informed the Tribunal that the expanded technical committee will meet on October 13 to thrash out several issues over which the two states do not agree.
One of the issues is whether in view of the hydrological conditions of the Mahanadi river, any flow during November to May can be characterised as minimum non-monsoon flow as claimed by Odisha.
Another issue is whether Chhattisgarh has the right to draw water from the storage of Hirakud reservoir from Kalma barrage constructed in the foreshore of Hirakud reservoir. If the expanded technical committee reaches a consensus, the same is likely to be placed before the Tribunal on October 15.
The October 15 hearing comes close on the heels of a high-level meeting at New Delhi on October 1 presided over by Union Home minister Amit Shah.
Chief Ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Mohan Charan Majhi and Vishnu Deo Sai, and Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil had attended the meeting which was aimed at finding an amicable settlement outside the Tribunal route.
Both states have agreed in principle to accept a CWC-mediated framework. Meanwhile, the BJD has demanded that Chief Minister Majhi convene an all-party meeting before the October 13 meeting of the expanded technical committee to discuss the stand to be taken by the Odisha government.
Party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the BJD has been demanding that the talks between the chief ministers of the two states and the discussion in the technical committee be made public. “The interests of Odisha should not be sacrificed,” he said.