The issue of sharing of Mahanadi water between Odisha and Chhattisgarh was back in focus when Chief Minister of the neighbouring State Raman Singh and Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti came to the city to attend the BJP’s two-day national executive meeting here on Saturday.
After Mr. Singh told presspersons that he was ready for talks on the Mahanadi issue with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the latter reacted sharply saying that his Chhattisgarh counterpart was not cooperative in resolving the dispute when Ms. Bharti convened a meeting on the issue in New Delhi.
The controversy had started last year when Mr. Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that construction of projects on the upstream of the Mahanadi river be stopped as it would affect water flow into Odisha.
The Chhattisgarh government, however, did not accept the Odisha government’s claim of a reduced water flow.
Apart from writing to the Centre for setting up a tribunal to resolve the issue, the Odisha government has also moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay order on Chhattisgarh’s construction activities.
Uma refuses comment
Responding to queries from presspersons, Ms. Bharti said that she would not comment on the issue since the Odisha government had taken the matter to court.
