BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi once again reiterated the need for an amicable solution through discussion between Odisha and Chhattisgarh on the long-standing Mahanadi water dispute.
Chairing a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan on Wednesday to take stock of the situation, the chief minister pointed out that efforts to resolve the issue through the Central Water Commission (CWC) have been slow.
“A mutually agreeable solution could be reached through discussions between the two states with the support of the central government. The CWC could provide technical assistance in this regard,” he added.
The chief minister, who had taken up the issue with his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai on two occasions, said an early resolution to the long-standing dispute will improve relations between the two states.
Majhi and Sai had previously discussed the issue on the sidelines of the All India Conference of the State Water Resources Ministers in Rajasthan in February and again on the occasion of World Water Day in Bhubaneswar in March this year. Both of them had emphasised the need for an amicable solution on the dispute.
The meeting was informed that official-level talks between the two states were underway to resolve the issue. Since the CWC intervention has not made much headway, the meeting felt the need for the active support of the central government for an early resolution.
The meeting was attended by Advocate General Pitambar Acharya, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, development commissioner and additional chief secretary of Water Resources department Anu Garg, principal secretary to the Chief Minister Saswata Mishra and senior officials and engineers of the Water Resources department.