Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal Asks Odisha, Chhattisgarh To Undertake Field Visits

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal today directed the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments to send their representatives to conduct field visits, informed Advocate General of Odisha, Ashok Parija.

While the technical team from Odisha will visit Chhattisgarh between October 30 and November 2, the representatives of Chhattisgarh will visit Odisha between November 17 and November 19.

While the next hearing by the Tribunal will be done on November 30, an assessor will be appointed by December 2.

"Both the States have been asked to make field visits and hold further discussions. The Tribunal has fixed November 30 as the next date of hearing during which issues will be identified," said Parija.

Earlier on Friday, a meeting between the advocates of Odisha and Chhattisgarh was held at Odisha Bhawan in New Delhi.

The Odisha government had sought a stay on construction and operation of barrages being built by Chhattisgarh government on Mahanadi river and had demanded release of 1.74 million acre-feet of water during the non-monsoon season.

The Tribunal headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar held a hearing on the interim application in May this year. It then had asked both the States to conduct joint visits to assess water inflow in upper catchments of Mahanadi River to determine the water inflow in the lower catchments.