Bhubaneswar, Dec 10 In view of the ongoing discussions and proceedings before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, and considering the complexity and sensitivity of issues related to the river water issue, the state government’s Water Resources Department has constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Wednesday.
The committee, formed as per the directions of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, will examine all relevant aspects of the Mahanadi water issue and provide necessary policy-level guidance to the ongoing technical and administrative efforts being undertaken by the state government on the matter.
Apart from Chairman Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, the other members are State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, Industry Minister Sampad Chandra Swain, Government Chief Whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan, BJD MLA and former Minister Niranjan Pujari, BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra, and Congress MLA Sofia Firdous.
The Chief Minister recently told the Odisha Assembly that for the past one and a half years, the state government has been making every effort -- both judicial and through dialogue -- to resolve the Mahanadi water-sharing dispute, as the river is considered the lifeline of Odisha.
The government also informed the members in the state Assembly that the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments was set to meet on December 5, continuing the efforts of both neighbouring states to reach an amicable resolution to the long-standing Mahanadi water dispute.
It was also informed that CM Majhi had held informal talks with his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Vishnu Deo Sai, regarding the issue. The matter was later taken up at the Eastern Zonal Council Conference, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, where the two Chief Ministers continued their discussions.
A Chief Secretary (CS)-level meeting was also held in Delhi on August 30, during which the Chief Secretaries of Odisha and Chhattisgarh held detailed discussions to resolve the long-pending issue.
Following the CS-level meeting in Delhi, six meetings of the JTC have already been held, reviewing technical details, water-flow data, and related aspects. Similarly, the Chief Secretaries of both states met again on November 10 this year to continue the process. In addition to the JTC discussions, the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal is scheduled to hold its next hearing on December 20.
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