Mahanadi: Naveen seeks Tribunal; Dharmendra bats for Talks

ONI Bureau: During the ‘Round Table’ organised by Business Standard in Bhubaneswar yesterday, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan offered contrasting views on the issue of Mahanadi.

The CM made it clear that as former Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti had expressed Centre’s inability to stop Chhattisgarh from constructing barrages on Mahanadi, tribunal is the only option to resolve the issue. Since Chhattisgarh has always kept the Odisha Government in the dark, there is no scope for further dialogue unless the project work is stopped, he said.

On the other hand, Dharmendra Pradhan said he is skeptical about the outcome of a tribunal. Several water tribunals in the past including those on Krishna, Cavery, Rabi, Beas etc. failed to bring any positive results even after 27-30 years. So, the issue should be resolved only through a dialogue between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, he opined.

Earlier, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has offered to mediate between Odisha and Chhattisgarh to resolve the Mahanadi river water dispute, which was rejected by Odisha Govt. As the BJD Government has toughened its stand for obvious reasons, there may not be any immediate sign of truce on the issue of Mahanadi.