Bhubaneswar, September 28: A high-level meeting between the Chief Ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh will be held under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on October 1 to resolve the long-standing Mahanadi water sharing dispute between the two States.
“Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai will attend the meeting, which will be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 1 in New Delhi,” said Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya on Monday.
The proposed meeting assumes significance as Shah will chair the talks between the two Chief Ministers.
In recent months, both States have stepped up efforts to explore an amicable settlement through dialogue and technical consultations. On July 30, after a high-level meeting in New Delhi, chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil both the Chief Ministers expressed optimism about resolving the Mahanadi water-sharing dispute within the next three months.
The two principal riparian States have been locked in a prolonged legal and administrative battle for a decade now, each staking their right over India's eighth-longest river.
Odisha has objected to industrial barrages and other water projects constructed by Chhattisgarh in the upstream areas. Odisha claims that it had a disastrous impact on the lean-season flow to the State, which lies downstream of the basin.
The Centre constituted the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018 to adjudicate the dispute between the two States.
For Odisha, the Mahanadi remains crucial to agriculture, irrigation, industries and livelihoods, making the issue of water flow, particularly during the non-monsoon period, a key concern.
After the BJP Government came to power for the first time in Odisha in 2024, and with the neighbouring Chhattisgarh Government also ruled by the BJP, fresh attempts were made to find an amicable settlement to the river water dispute through dialogue.
Earlier this month, during his visit to Odisha, Chhattisgarh CM told media persons that the Sai said that Mahanadi issue was no longer a major dispute and expressed confidence that it would be resolved soon.
