Odisha urges Centre to resolve Mahanadi water dispute

Bhubaneswar, Nov 17 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterating his demand that a tribunal be set up urgently to resolve the Mahanadi river water dispute with neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

Patnaik has sought Prime Minister Modi's personal intervention in the matter.

"The timeline of one year for constitution of Tribunal for adjudicating the Mahanadi water dispute under Section 4(1) of the Inter State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act of 1956 is getting over on November 18, 2017. However, the Union government has not constituted the Tribunal despite my repeated requests over last one year," said Patnaik.

The Chief Minister had on November 7 requested the Prime Minister to expedite issuance of notification for constitution of a Tribunal to resolve the water issue.

He informed that the state government had filed a statutory complaint on November 19, last year, under the ISRWD Act of 1956 seeking constitution of a Water Dispute Tribunal to resolve the water issue.

Patnaik added the Act mandates that if the Central government "is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central government shall within a period not exceeding one year from the date of receipt of such request by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a water disputes Tribunal for adjudication of the water dispute".

"Therefore, the Central Government is supposed to constitute a Tribunal before November 19, this year," Patnaik said.

He said that the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India appraised the Supreme Court that the Union Ministry of Water Resources has prepared a note for the decision of the Cabinet on the constitution of a Tribunal.