Bhubaneswar: Formation of a Tribunal is the only way out to resolve the ongoing Mahanadi river water dispute with neighbouring Chhattisgarh government, said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday.
Speaking at the Odisha Round Table Conclave organised by Business Standard, Patnaik said that previous efforts of finding solution through talks have failed with the neighbouring State.
"We have met before without any results. We ask them (Centre and Chhattisgarh) to stop work of barrages. The then Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati said that the Central government has no power to do so. So the only way out is Tribunal," Patnaik said.
Earlier, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari had proposed another round of talks between Chhattisgarh and Odisha to put an end to the ongoing dispute over Mahanadi.
Speaking at the event, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, however, stated that disputes between States can be resolved with dialogues. But Odisha government is politicising the issue.
"Once Tribunal is formed, it can take five, eight or even 20 years to resolve disputes. Centre is going to bringing in a law by amending Inter State River Disputes Act to ensure that all such disputes are resolved in a time bound manner," said Pradhan.