Odisha govt unable to resolve Mahanadi dispute, allowed Chhattisgarh to build more dams: BJD

Bhubaneswar: The opposition BJD in Odisha attacked the BJP government, accusing it of lacking a clear strategy to resolve the Mahanadi dispute and allowing Chhattisgarh to construct more dams to obstruct the free flow of water.

Deputy Opposition Leader in the Assembly, Prasanna Acharya, BJD's senior vice president Debi Prasad Mishra and MLA Niranjan Pujari made the allegations at a press conference on Friday.

"As the BJP-led state government has failed to take proper steps to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute, Chhattisgarh has constructed several check dams and barrages over the last 19 months," alleged Mishra.

"While the people of Odisha are struggling desperately to get water from the Mahanadi for their daily use, Chhattisgarh is illegally blocking the flow of the water and selling it to industrial establishments," he claimed.

Mishra alleged that the state's BJP government has no clear stand on resolving the dispute and is caught in a state of confusion.

"Initially, it was said that a solution would be found through mutual discussion, but no progress was made in that direction," he said.

Acharya claimed that after coming to power in the state, instead of finding a solution to the Mahanadi water dispute, the BJP government has further complicated the situation.

He said that during the previous BJD government, led by Naveen Patnaik, efforts were initially made to resolve the issue through mutual discussion under the mediation of the Centre.

"However, due to non-cooperation by the Chhattisgarh and the central governments, the dispute could not be resolved. Subsequently, the then Odisha government approached the Supreme Court, and on its directions, a tribunal was constituted in 2018," he said.

"Looking at India’s history, there is no precedent of inter-state water disputes ever being resolved through mutual discussion. Neither through mutual discussion nor through the tribunal route has the state government moved even an inch towards resolving the issue," he added.

Acharya said the ministerial-level committee constituted by the state government has held only two meetings.

He alleged that Chhattisgarh was unwilling to listen to Odisha, and the Centre has become a silent spectator.

"The BJP state government lacks the courage to raise its voice against the Centre.” Pujari said that as he was nominated as a member of the ministerial-level committee, "I attended the two meetings that were held. In the second meeting, it was decided that an all-party and stakeholders' meeting would be held on January 23. However, this meeting was cancelled at the last moment for unspecified reasons".

He said it was also decided that a ministerial delegation would visit Chhattisgarh on January 31 to hold talks, but that visit was also cancelled.

"Despite the presence of triple-engine governments, in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and at the Centre, there is no hope that the issue could be resolved soon," he said.