BHUBANESWAR: Odisha and Jharkhand will settle the issue of flood control in Subarnarekha river, which continues to remain a cause of concern for both the states through further discussions with the involvement of Central Water Commission (CWC).
The issue was deliberated at the standing committee meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) held at the Lok Seva Bhawan here on Tuesday. The primary dispute between the two states over Subarnarekha river involve flash floods caused by sudden dam water release in Jharkhand, which affects Balasore district the most.
Additional chief secretary of Information and Public Relations department Hemant Sharma, told TNIE that the Subarnarekha multipurpose project and recurring flood issues affecting Odisha and Jharkhand were deliberated in detail. Sharma said secretaries of Water Resources departments of Odisha and Jharkhand were asked to hold joint discussions with their respective teams and work out a solution before the next meeting of the council.
Discussions between the two states will be held with the mediation of the CWC to resolve the issue. Sharma said that no final decision has been taken on the issue. It will discussed at the meeting of the next EZC to be attended by the chief ministers of both the states. He said the dates of EZC meeting are yet to be finalised.
Sharma said other issues discussed included auction of major mineral blocks in the eastern zonal states, PMGSY road connectivity and achievements, implementation status of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, establishment of special courts for speedy disposal of rape and POCSO Act cases, updating of urban master plans, sanction and progress under PMAY 2.0, measures to reduce school dropout rates and cooperative sector initiatives under ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’.
The meeting was presided over by Odisha chief secretary Anu Garg, as the host state. Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, participated in the meeting. Ashish Srivastava, secretary of the Inter-State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, Pratyaya Amrit, chief secretary of Bihar, Ajay Kumar Singh, development commissioner of Jharkhand and Binod Kumar, additional chief secretary of West Bengal attended the meeting.
