BHUBANESWAR: Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan today condemned the statement of Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh on Mahanadi river water, but asked the Odisha government to clarify why it has failed to harness the river water, 52 percent of which flows into the Bay of Bengal, during the last 18 years.
The union minister, however, reiterated his stand that all river water disputes between Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Jharkhand should be resolved through discussion as tribunal is a long
drawn affair. Stating that the Centre was never opposed to a tribunal for adjudication of the Mahanadi river water dispute, Pradhan said that the issue was whether it should have been referred to the Single Standing Tribunal, bill for which has been tabled in Lok Sabha or the special tribunal for Mahanadi. After the Supreme Court's observation, Centre has formed a special tribunal for Mahanadi river water dispute and its functioning has already started, he said.
But the state government should answer the main question on the issue, the union minister said and referred to the statement of Odisha government in the assembly that 52 percent of the river water flows into the Bay of Bengal. “Now that the dispute has been referred to the tribunal, it will decide on the issue,” he said.