The long-standing Mahanadi water-sharing dispute between Chhattisgarh and Odisha is likely to be resolved soon through discussions and technical consultations between the two states, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters at Swami Vivekananda Airport after returning from a two-day visit to Odisha, Sai said he discussed the issue with Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi and stressed that there was no scope for conflict between the two states over the river water.
“The Mahanadi water issue is going to be resolved very soon. Both states have BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] governments and there is an NDA government at the Centre. Odisha approached the Union water resources ministry in 2016, raising objections to the construction of six barrages in Chhattisgarh for industrial purposes and alleging reduced downstream flow during the non-monsoon period. On July 30, the Centre facilitated a meeting between Sai and Majhi, chaired by Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil, as part of efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute.
There is no situation of dispute anywhere,” Sai said. He said the matter, which was earlier being heard by the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal , has now been referred to the Central Water Commission (CWC) .
