CMs' meet to fail in absence of info on Mahanadi: BJD

Bhubaneswar: BJD, the ruling party in the state, today said the meeting of the chief ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh proposed to be called by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati in an effort to resolve the dispute between the two states over the sharing of Mahanadi water will not be fruitful in the absence of the required information sought by Odisha from the Chhattisgarh government on the issue.

Pratap Deb, BJD spokesperson, said, “They (Chhattisgarh) have not given any information though we have sent a reminder to them. I believe they are trying to hide something. Without the required information, the talks will not be successful.”

On the proposed meeting called by the Union Water Resources minister, Deb added, “She has neither talked to the Odisha Chief Minister nor sent any letter yet. But she has given a statement in the media. However, in the interest of the State, the chief minister will not hesitate to attend the meeting.”

As per the decision taken at the meeting brokered by the Union Water Resources Ministry between the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments held on July 29, the neighbouring State had promised to give the necessary information to Odisha within 15 days. However, no information has been given to the Odisha government yet, Deb pointed out.

On the other hand, Congress termed the BJD government a ‘habitual liar’ while BJP appealed to it not to politicise the matter.

Narasingha Mishra, Leader of Opposition, said, “The state government can say they have not received any letter from the Union minister. But it depends on the Chief Minister whether he will attend the meeting or not.”

Lambasting the State government, Radharani Panda, BJP legislator, said, “The Union minister has called him out of her interest in the State. Instead, the state govt should have approached the Union minister over the issue earlier. The state government should not play game of politics, but try to sort the matter out.”

Meanwhile, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Baharati said both the States will exchange the required information this month.

“I have asked the ministry officials to ensure 100% information sharing between the States within the next one week,” she told newsmen in New Delhi.