Bhubaneswar/New Delhi, Jan 21: A day after the Centre constituted a negotiation committee to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute, the BJD-led State government showed reluctance to accept the panel constituted to assess the availability and utilisation of water in the Mahanadi river and its tributaries. Stating that the Centre’s move on constituting a committee comes after protests in Odisha over Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh being chosen as a star campaigner by BJP for the ensuing rural polls, BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said the State government’s demand to stop work is not yet implemented. Similarly, the Congress questioned the efficacy of such a committee and asked the State to reject it. The State government should reject such a committee as we want a tribunal. This committee has been set up to influence people during the time of elections. Has India witnessed a negotiation committee ever? Questioned Tara Prasad Bahinipati. State BJP is optimistic of a probable solution of the inter-State feud while Union minister of Water Resources Uma Bharti vowed to protect the interest of Odisha.
Meanwhile, Union minister Uma Bharti refuted the allegation of central neglect. She said there should be cooperation between both the States. Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a negotiations committee to assess availability and utilization of waters of Mahanadi and its tributaries. The committee will also examine existing water sharing agreements on river Mahanadi and will consider claims of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand regarding availability and utilization of waters of these rivers. The committee has been set up with reference to complaint of State of Odisha under section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956 regarding utilization of waters of Mahanadi Basin. The committee will be chaired by Member (WP&P), Central Water Commission and will have 11 other members comprising representatives from the States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, Union Ministries of Agriculture, Environment Forest and Climate Change, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, India Meteorological Department and Central Water Commission. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three months.
