Bhubaneswar, December 10: The Odisha Government has constituted an eight-member high-level committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo to supervise issues related to Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, said an official release on Wednesday.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Law, Excise and Works Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, Industries Minister Sampad Swain and Government Chief Whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan, MLAs Niranjan Pujari, Jaynarayan Mishra and Sofia Firdous are the members of the committee, it said.

The Committee has been formed under the directions of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

“In view of the ongoing discussions and proceedings before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal by the Water Resources Department, and considering the complexity and sensitivity of the Mahanadi water issue, the Government has constituted a High-Level Committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo. This committee has been formed under the directions of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi,” said the release.

It said that the committee will examine all relevant aspects related to the issue and supervise technical and administrative initiatives being undertaken by the State Government.

Recently, during hearing before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal State Advocate General Pitambar Acharya informed the tribunal that the decades-long dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh cannot be resolved through dialogue alone. He also submitted before the tribunal that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has also met Union Home Minister and Jal Shakti Minister separately in New Delhi to discuss an amicable solution to the Mahanadi dispute.

Notably, the Centre notified the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in March 2018 following a complaint by Odisha Government in November 2016, particularly objecting to upstream projects alleging that they affected downstream flow.