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Odisha rejects Andhra proposal of publishing water tribunal order in official gazette
As per the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 the final order of the tribunal would be operational once it is published in the official gazette of the Centre. It would have the same force as an order or decree of the Supreme Court
Odisha government has refused to consent to Andhra Pradesh government publishing the final decision of the Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal in the official gazette, saying that it is waiting for the finalisation of the Special Leave Petition (SLP) field before the Supreme Court in this regard.
The water dispute tribunal formed to adjudicate issues arising out of the construction of a barrage over Vansadhara river by Andhra Pradesh had passed its final order in September 2017, allowing construction of the barrage at Neradi. The tribunal released another report on June 21, in which it kept its 2017 order intact but specified that it was subject to the finalisation of the SLP filed by Odisha government before Supreme Court.
As per the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 the final order of the tribunal would be operational once it is published in the official gazette of the Centre. It would have the same force as an order or decree of the Supreme Court.
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“As three SLPs in this matter are pending before Supreme Court, the tribunal cannot be published in the official gazette,” said Raghunandan Das, Odisha water resources minister.
The Odisha government has filed SLP against the tribunal’s order (dated September 23, 2019) issued for joint survey in the territory of Odisha. This case is also pending before the apex court.
Srinivas Chokkakula, a fellow with New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research and an authority on water dispute issues, said it is still not clear if Supreme Court would adjudicate in the Vansadhara water dispute case, though in 2018, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra had allowed Karnataka to release less amount of water to Tamil Nadu than what the Cauvery water dispute tribunal had ordered. “The issues are complex. It remains to be seen if the Supreme Court will adjudicate. It all depends on the merits of this particular case,” said Chokkakula.
Vansadhara river originates near Lanjigarh village in Kalahandi district and Kalyansinghpur in Rayagada district of Odisha and flows for about 265km till it merges with the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh. Its river basin occupies 8,015 square kilometres in Odisha and 2,815 square kilometres in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh started the Neradi Barrage Project to provide irrigation facility to 203 villages, covering an area of 107,280 acres of land in Srikakulam district.
Stressing that the construction of a flood-flow canal at Katragada would result in drying up the existing riverbed and consequent shifting of the river affecting ground water table Odisha in February 2006 had sought constitution of an Inter-State Water Disputes Tribunal for adjudication.
The tribunal had pronounced its final order in September 2017, allowing Andhra Pradesh government to construct Neradi Barrage on river Vansadhara.
