BHUBANESWAR: Inflow of water into the Odisha part of the Mahanadi has reduced considerably over the last three decades as Chhattisgarh government constructed about 516 barrages in the upper catchment area of the river.
In a written reply to a question from Tara Prasad Bahinipati (Congress) in the Assembly on Thursday, Minister of State for Water Resources Tara Prasad Bahinipati said that the inflow of water to Mahanadi river during the non-monsoon period has reduced by four per cent (pc) between 1991 and 2005. Thereafter till 2016, water inflow reduced by 37 pc. Following this, inflow of water into Hirakud dam has significantly dropped.
After that, there was a drastic reduction in water inflow because of construction of a large number of barrages by the Chhattisgarh government. While water inflow reduced by 65 pc in 2016-17, it was 61 pc in 2017-18 and 57 pc in 2018-19.
The Minister said that the State government has taken several steps to resolve the longstanding water dispute between the two neighbouring states. A statutory complaint was filed before the Centre in 2016 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act-1956. The original suit was filed in the Supreme Court.
As per the Centre’s notification issued on March 12, 2018, Odisha has been placing its demand before Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal on different occasions. In the Tribunal, states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have been made parties.