BHUBANESWAR: Even as the dispute over Mahanadi river water continues, Odisha Government on Monday claimed that the neighbouring state Chhattisgarh is utilising its water exclusively for industries. Minister of State for Water Resources Raghunandan Das said this has come to the fore because of the Covid-19 pandemic as industries are not open in Chhattisgarh and the neighbouring state has released water in Mahanadi river for the first time this year.
“The Chhattisgarh government, which had not been releasing non-monsoon water of Mahanadi to Odisha despite repeated demands, has released the water for the first time this year,” he said. “Considering the volume of water released from the upper catchment of the river to Hirakud reservoir in June this year, it is now clear that the Chhattisgarh government is using the Mahanadi water mostly for its industrial units. It is not that the neighbouring state has released the non-monsoon water as per our demand. The fact remains that it has been forced to release the water as the industrial units are closed due to the pandemic,” Das said. The Minister said Odisha Government will bring this fact to the notice of the Mahanadi River Water Disputes Tribunal during its next hearing scheduled on August 8.
However, the Congress has rejected the statement of the Minister. “If the Chhattisgarh government has released water, why Mahanadi river is not overflowing even during the monsoon. The Minister’s statement is not based on fact,” senior Congress legislator Suresh Routray said and advised the Government to construct barrages on the lower catchment of the river. The BJP has asked the Government to take benefit from it, if the Chhattisgarh government has released water. “Without trying to take political mileage out of this, the State Government should try to utilise the water in a proper manner,” a senior leader said. The Tribunal after hearing Odisha, Chhat t i s g arh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra on July 11 had framed 41 issues to be considered during the next hearing. The Tribunal, which received some additional documents from Odisha, also directed the Centre to provide the documents to the Chhattisgarh government.