Union Home Minister Amit Shah is chairing a meeting with the CMs of Chhattisgarh and Odisha to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute. Both BJP-led states have reportedly agreed to accept the decision of the Central Water Commission on the matter.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday is chairing a meeting with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to discuss the long-pending Mahanadi water dispute between the two states.

Sai and Majhi are participating in the meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister. The meeting is aimed at discussing the Mahanadi water dispute between Chhattisgarh and Odisha and exploring a resolution to the long-pending issue.

Speaking in Raipur before his departure, Sai said both states had agreed to accept the decision taken by the Central Water Commission (CWC) in the interest of the two states. "Today, I am going on a visit to Delhi. There has been a water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh for so many years, so today we will hold a meeting under the chairmanship of the Union Home Minister," Sai said.

He added that the Chief Ministers of both states had written to the CWC, expressing their willingness to accept its decision on the dispute. "Now that there is a BJP government in both states, the Chief Ministers have written to the CWC that whatever decision the CWC takes in the interest of our states, we both will accept," he said.

Background of the Dispute

Earlier, on August 31, in an effort to resolve the long-standing dispute regarding the Mahanadi river, the Chief Secretaries and secretaries of the water resource departments of Chhattisgarh and Odisha held a meeting in New Delhi and emphasised the necessity to work out an amicable solution for the benefit of the people, according to an official statement.

Meanwhile, on July 24, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi chaired a high-level meeting to address the Mahanadi dispute with Chhattisgarh, stressing the need to resolve the issue through mutual talks with the Centre's cooperation. Senior officials, including the Advocate General and the Development Commissioner, were present in the meeting held at the Lok Seva Bhawan.

In 2016, the Government of Odisha submitted a complaint to the Central Government on the Mahanadi River Water Dispute under section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. The State of Odisha requested that the Union Government constitute a Tribunal under section 4(1) of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, for the Adjudication of the water disputes in respect of the inter-State river Mahanadi and its basin between the riparian States of Odisha and Chhattisgarh. (ANI)

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