The chief ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh will meet on Thursday under the chairmanship of Union home minister Amit Shah in a fresh attempt to resolve a long-running dispute over sharing the waters of the Mahanadi river, state advocate general Pitambar Acharya said on Monday.
The meeting is expected to advance talks between the two neighbouring states. (ANI/PTI)
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The meeting is expected to advance talks between the two neighbouring states, with Acharya saying there is now a possibility of reaching a mutually acceptable solution.
“A meeting of the two chief ministers will be held under the chairmanship of the Home Minister. A path towards resolving the dispute through mutual understanding is emerging,” Acharya said.
He said the secretary of the Central Water Commission (CWC) submitted details of the last two meetings between the states to the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, as directed by the tribunal, which took the submissions on record.
The development follows a September 20 meeting between CM Mohan Charan Majhi and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai in Bhubaneswar. The two leaders held discussions for more than an hour on issues including the Mahanadi.
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Sai said after the meeting that there was no major problem between the two states over the river’s waters and expressed confidence that the dispute would be resolved soon. He also said officials from the two states previously held discussions in New Delhi and agreed to accept CWC recommendations if they were beneficial to both Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
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Sai said after the meeting that there was no major problem between the two states over the river’s waters and expressed confidence that the dispute would be resolved soon. He also said officials from the two states previously held discussions in New Delhi and agreed to accept CWC recommendations if they were beneficial to both Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
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The Mahanadi water-sharing dispute has strained relations between the neighbouring states for years and is pending before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal.
The tribunal, set up by the federal government in March 2018, has encouraged Odisha and Chhattisgarh to seek a negotiated settlement. The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, the CWC and senior officials from both states have since held technical-level discussions as part of that process.
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Data jointly submitted by the two states to the tribunal puts the Mahanadi’s annual water availability at 62.36 million acre-feet (MAF), with Odisha’s share estimated at 33.17 MAF and Chhattisgarh’s at 28.94 MAF. Water availability at 50%, 70% and 90% dependability has been estimated at 61.12 MAF, 46.62 MAF and 37.25 MAF, respectively.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
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Home/India News/Odisha, Chhattisgarh CMs to meet Amit Shah over Mahanadi water dispute
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