Finally, the Supreme Court of India has asked the Central government to set up a tribunal within a month to resolve the long-standing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the sharing of water from the river Mahanadi. Earlier, the Modi government had advised the Odisha to negotiate with Chhattisgarh to resolve the dispute as cases referred to tribunals takes decades for resolution. Stakes are high because both these states are ruled by different political parties.
On September 17, 2016, both the chief ministers, Naveen Patnaik and Raman Singh, had a meeting with then union water resources minister Uma Bharti along with chief secretaries of the states to solve this issue, but they had failed to bring out any solution.
In an affidavit filed last year, Modi government had opposed the constitution of the tribunal, but the court directed for a tribunal as per 4(1) of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956). In its plea, Odisha government had alleged that the Chhattisgarh government was violating a 1983 treaty on Mahanadi waters by constructing unauthorised dams and barrages for the last couple of years.
For the record, about 80% of the population are dependent on agriculture and natural products. The main sources of income for the state is agriculture and natural products. The Chhattisgarh is known as the ‘Bowl of Paddy’ because the main crop is rice. There are about 600 rice mills in the state. Similarly, about 76% of the total working population is engaged with agriculture and agriculture related industries in Odisha.
As it is now an emotive issue, Raman Singh-led Chhattishgarh government may not stop construction of barrages and dams in state as polls for both the state Assembly and Lok Sabha are round the corner. As per the report, Chhattisgarh government had constructed six barrages over Mahanadi and it has plans to construct 13 more dams and barrages in future.
As the stalemate continues, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should talk with Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and set up team to find opportunity to construct of barrages and dams in border of both states instead of fighting with Chhattisgarh over Mahanadhi water. The major rivers from Jharkhand enter Odisha and join in Brahmani, Sankh and Mahanadi rivers before entering the Bay of Bengal. Sharing water is, after all, equally important for both states. The prominent tributaries of the Subarnarekha are Kharkai, Roro, Kanchi, Harmu Nadi, Damra, Karru, Chinguru, Karakari, Gurma, Garra, Singaduba, Kodia, Dulunga and Khaijori. The Kharkai meets the Subarnarekha at Sonari (Domuhani), a neighbourhood of Jamshedpur.
To boost infrastructure and create jobs, this could be a big project which can create a huge employment opportunities not only for the engineering graduates but also for a large number of the work force in both the states.