BHUBANESWAR: Acting on the request of the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments, the Centre has extended the tenure of the Mahanadi River Water Disputes Tribunal for another 21 months till December 24, 2024.
This is the second extension given to the tribunal which was constituted on March 12, 2018, with a three-year tenure and a mandate to resolve the river water sharing dispute between the two states. After the tenure, it was given a two-year extension. The tenure of the tribunal expired on March 11, 2023. However, during its five-year tenure, there has not been much progress as the common information format was not finalised.
While the two states had sought another three-year extension, the Centre’s decision of giving little more than a year and a half has raised questions about whether the dispute can be resolved by the tribunal within such a short period.
The BJD raised the issue in the Assembly on Tuesday and accused Chhattisgarh of arbitrarily stopping water flow in Mahanadi river during lean period. The ruling party demanded that the issue should be discussed in the House. Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha directed the state government to place a statement in the House in this regard.
Later, speaking to mediapersons, BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra said an interim arrangement should be made to ensure the availability of adequate water for the state in the river as the dispute between the two states is pending before the tribunal. Pressure should be put on Chhattisgarh to release water to ensure that Odisha gets its proper share of Mahanadi water, he said.
He also targeted both the earlier UPA and current NDA governments at the Centre for working against Odisha’s interest for which Chhattisgarh has been obstructing the free flow of water downstream.
However, the leader of the Opposition Jaynarayan Mishra and the leader of the Congress legislature party Narasingh Mishra came down heavily on the state government for not taking any action to resolve the issue.