Mahanadi water row: Odisha Minister blames previous BJD-led government for tribunal delays

A high-level meeting related to the Mahanadi River Water Dispute Tribunal was held at Lok Seva Bhawan on Friday under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo. Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, and Chief Secretary Anu Garg were among the senior officials present at the meeting.

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Speaking to the media after the meeting, the Revenue Minister launched a sharp attack on the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), alleging that the delay in the Mahanadi Tribunal process occurred during the BJD’s tenure. He said the roots of the problem lie in the party’s 24 years in power, during which the construction of barrages in neighbouring Chhattisgarh was not opposed effectively at that time.

Pujari further stated that the Central government had extended the tribunal’s tenure from one and a half years to five years, but Odisha presented only one witness before the tribunal. He alleged that the BJD provided Chhattisgarh with the very tools now being used against Odisha’s interests.

The necessary legal fight that should have been pursued during nearly 60 hearings did not take place. He asserted that whatever was required for Odisha’s defeat and Chhattisgarh’s gain had already been done by the previous (BJD-led) government, the Revenue Minister said. Pujari added that the present (BJP-led) government would soon file an affidavit before the tribunal to present Odisha’s position firmly.

“We have inherited the Mahanadi River water dispute from the previous government. The issue was created during the long 24 years of governance of the BJD. Starting from 2014 up to 2022, the then Chhattisgarh government constructed more than 500 barrages, one after another, which could have been opposed (by Odisha),” the Revenue Minister said.

Reacting to this, senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra stated, “Efforts were made in 2016 by the (erstwhile) Naveen government and a tripartite mutual discussion was initiated under (former Union Minister) Uma Bharati. No narratives on that have been mentioned, and an attempt has been made (by the BJP govt) as if the BJD was not interested in a mutual discussion,” the BJD leader expressed.

Worth mentioning, the Odisha government had formed a high-level committee on December 10 last year headed by Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, to look into the entire Mahanadi water dispute and provide guidance to the State’s position before the ongoing Tribunal proceedings.