Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik says state will leave no stone unturned to establish its right over Mahanadi waters

BHUBANESHWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik promised not to back down on the issue of Mahanadi, a river that flows into the state from BJP-ruled Chhatisgarh and ends in the Bay of Bengal.

A political storm has broken out between the two states ever since Chhattisgarh's plans to build barrages in the upper catchment area of the river were made public. Patnaik’s government claims to have been deliberately kept in the dark about Chhattisgarh’s plans.

The Biju Janata Dal staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after the minister of state for water resources Sanjeev Balyan said Chhattisgarh had twice reached out to Odisha to discuss the project.

Chief Minister Raman Singh also made it clear that his state’s claim over the waters of the river had the Central Water Commission's nod. He said that his state had right to even more water than the barrages would end up holding back.

Patnaik in his response on Wednesday described Singh’s statement as unfortunate, and minister Balyan of misleading Parliament. “The statement of the Honourable Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh on the Mahanadi water issue yesterday is most unfortunate. It violates the cardinal doctrine of inter-state river water sharing between co-basin states and our federal governance,” said Patnaik."What is more unfortunate is the false and misleading statement of Balyan, minister of state for water resources on the floor of Parliament yesterday,” he said.

Patnaik, who has already asked the Prime Minister to intervene, assured Odisha “no stone would be left unturned to establish Odisha’s justifiable rights over Mahanadi waters”.