Mahanadi : Odisha CM Urges Centre To Stop Construction Of Barrages By Chhattisgarh

KalingaTV News Network

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought the Union Government to issue directive to the Chhattishgarh State Government to stop the construction of illegal projects especially six barrages over the Mahanadi River, and constitute a tribunal to resolve the dispute.

“If the Union Government would have been sincere in resolving the Mahanadi water dispute then first it would have instructed Chhattisgarh to stop all its ongoing construction activities on Mahanadi River and would have ensured uninterrupted flow in the river to the downstream riparian State,” Patnaik yesterday wrote a letter to the Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, who earlier asked the former to fix a date for an inter-state meeting over the Mahanadi water sharing issue.

“I request you to strictly abide by the mandate of the provisions of Section 4(1) of the Act of 1956 and take immediate steps to constitute a Tribunal for adjudication of the Complaint of my Government dated 19.11.2016 against the recalcitrant upper riparian State of Chhattisgarh in respect of inter-State river Mahanadi,” Patnaik wrote.

Significantly, the Supreme Court today directed the Centre to issue a notification regarding formation of a tribunal within a month to resolve the Mahanadi river water sharing issue between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.