BHUBANESWAR: Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the state government, accusing it of lacking sincerity and commitment to protect the Mahanadi river, following the absence of the state’s Advocate General at a crucial hearing of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal.
Posting a strongly-worded statement on social media, Naveen questioned why the Advocate General did not appear to represent Odisha during the Tribunal hearing on the long-pending water-sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh. “What could be more important than safeguarding the Mahanadi?” he asked, alleging that the government had failed the people of Odisha who had pinned high hopes on the Tribunal proceedings.
Naveen’s remarks came after the Tribunal which was scheduled to meet on February 7 deferred the hearing to March 14. The Tribunal has decided to make a spot visit from the last week of February to the first week of March.
In his response, Advocate General Pitambar Acharya rejected Naveen’s allegations. Terming Naveen’s remarks as “disappointing” and akin to “sudden outbursts after waking from sleep”, Acharya said that before questioning the present government, Naveen should have carried out self-introspection. He said that during the seven-year tenure of the Tribunal, the previous BJD government’s legal team spent crores of rupees from the state exchequer without achieving any tangible outcome in the case.
Acharya claimed that after the BJP government assumed office, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s positive approach and the intervention of the Centre have opened the door for an amicable resolution between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. He clarified that since taking charge as Advocate General, he has been present at all important hearings and has actively represented the state’s interests.
On his absence at the latest hearing, Acharya explained that the proceedings were limited only to the extension of the tribunal’s tenure, for which his presence was not required.
As the Tribunal’s tenure is set to expire on April 13, 2026, both Odisha and Chhattisgarh have requested the Centre for an extension until March 27, 2027.