Bhubaneswar(NewsTimePro):
The term of the much-hyped Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal has been extended for another two years. The tribunal, set up by the central government on March 12, 2016, following a Supreme Court order, has extended the tribunal’s term by another two years on June 3 after failing to submit its report within a three-year period. However, the BJD government, which has been fighting for the protection of the river since 2014, has not been able to bring any slight relief or internal rebate from the tribunal in the last three years to protect the interests of the state. State Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das, on the other hand, expressed displeasure over the two-year extension of the tribunal and its disregard for the federal system.
According to a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Water Resources on June 3, the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal will remain in force until March 11, 2023, until the submission of the report under sub-section 2 of Section 5 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act 1954. The first of these two will end in the tribunal. A statement from the ministry said, “The tribunal has asked the central government to extend the term of the tribunal as it has not been able to hear its decision and submit its report within three years.” The tribunal’s term has been extended.
Reacting to the ‘News Time Pro, on the other hand, State Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das said that the term of the Mahanadi tribunal should not be extended by two years at a time. This will make the people of Odisha patient. The Orissa government has made strong arguments in the tribunal, but no concessions have been made. Even if the tribunal hung the verdict, it was not clear what had happened. The tribunal is trying to extend the deadline by two years at a time.
The federal system is acting as if it has “broken faith” in Odisha. Chhattisgarh is allowed to build projects on the upper reaches of the Mahanadi, while the Central Water Commission does not approve the Odisha project at the bottom, citing a case in tribunal. “Therefore, the Mahanadi water dispute needs to be resolved immediately,” he said.
