BHUBANESWAR: The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) has expressed serious concern over the failure of the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments to comply with its direction to submit a joint application seeking extension of its tenure on or before the first week of January 2026.
The Tribunal during its hearing on December 20, 2025 had asked the party states to submit a joint application as its tenure will be over on April 13, 2026.
Sources said this has raised questions on the continuity of the Tribunal as during the rest of the tenure, there is only one hearing scheduled on February 7. Besides, during such a short period left, the hearing cannot also be completed and a final order is not likely to be given.
Besides, the Tribunal has also rejected the Odisha government’s request to adjust the date of its hearing on February 7 due to the non-availability of the advocate general. Registrar of the Tribunal Chandan Mukherjee has said in a letter to Odisha’s advocate Mahesh Agarwal that it has been felt that the hearing on February 7 is not effective hearing as both the states will inform about the status and progress in their mutual agreement for amicable settlement of the dispute.
“In view of the above, the Tribunal has decided to continue with the proceedings as scheduled on February 7 by exempting the advocate general from personal appearance,” the letter said.
An all-party meeting on the Mahanadi dispute has been scheduled on Friday for detailed discussion on the future course of action of the state government. Besides, the committee headed by deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo is also scheduled to visit Chhattisgarh for discussions on January 31.