Mahanadi river tribunal hearing scheduled for September 24

Hearing could not be held because common information format is yet to be finalised
Mahanadi River (Photo | EPS)
Mahanadi River (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: Even as four years have passed, the hearing of the Mahanadi river water disputes tribunal could not be held on Saturday as a common information format is yet to be finalised between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The next date of hearing has been deferred to September 24.

Official sources said unless the common information format is finalised, data and information cannot be collected from the Centre, Chhattisgarh and Odisha and dates will have to be deferred. Collection of data and information takes time and by the time it is finalised, the tenure of the tribunal would have expired.

The term of the tribunal which was formed on March 12, 2018, expired on March 12, 2021, following which it was given two years extension up to March 11, 2023. However, though more than one year of the extension time has passed, a hearing of the dispute is yet to be started. Sources said it would take more than one-year for finalising the common information format, which is the first step in the functioning of the tribunal.

Targeting the State government for not showing any interest in the resolution of the dispute with Chhattisgarh over sharing of Mahanadi river water, BJP leader Pradip Purohit criticised the government for not providing data for which the hearing is being deferred. Congress leader Sudarsan Das also criticised both governments for not sharing information as a result of which the hearing is being deferred.

He said if the common information format is not finalised with the consent of both the states and the Centre, resolution of the dispute may take more than 25 to 30 years. He urged both Odisha and Chhattisgarh to settle the dispute through negotiation as the tribunal will take a lot of time.
Odisha is facing an acute shortage of water in the non-monsoon period as the inflow of water to Mahanadi has drastically decreased due to barrages constructed by Chhattisgarh in the upper catchment area of the river.

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