Odisha-Chh’garh Mahanadi dispute: Weekly technical meets from Sept; review progress in Oct

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday informed that joint technical teams from Odisha and Chhattisgarh will meet weekly in September to work through the core issues in the Mahanadi water dispute, and that a progress review at the administrative level will be held in October.

The Chief Minister’s office informed about this development in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The post also stated that senior Water Resources officials and the Chief Secretaries of both states agreed to constitute technical committees headed by the Engineers-in-Chief (EICs) of Odisha and Chhattisgarh during a discussion on Saturday.

These panels will meet every week during September to identify critical issues, examine water-flow and availability data, and attempt to resolve technical bottlenecks underlying the dispute.

During the meeting, the committees agreed to prepare an outline for stronger coordination and an institutional framework to govern Mahanadi water allocation and monitoring between the two states.

October Administrative Review To Assess Progress

Further, the Chief Secretaries, along with the Secretaries of Water Resources of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, will convene in October to review the outcomes of the technical teams’ work and determine next steps.

The October meeting is intended as an administrative stock-take to guide subsequent negotiations and technical work.

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Possible CM-Level Meeting In December

The CMO added that, subject to convenience, the two Chief Ministers may meet in December to take stock of progress and explore a long-term, amicable resolution to the dispute in the interest of the people of both states.

Meanwhile, the state government issued a statement saying the discussions were held in an “amicable” and cooperative spirit, and that both sides agreed to work “sincerely and amicably” toward a mutually acceptable solution.

The meeting included the chief secretaries and senior functionaries of the water resources departments from both states, the CMO said.