Is the Mahanadi Water Dispute Between Odisha and Chhattisgarh Being Politicised?

Taking forward its fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Chhattisgarh and Central governments, over the ongoing Mahanadi river water sharing dispute, the Biju Janata Dal-led Odisha government announced the 'Janasachetanata Yatra', an awareness campaign, on May 16, across the 15 districts of the state where the Mahanadi river flows.

With numerous complexities surrounding the inter-state dispute, the political parties involved seem to be aiming for political mobilization rather than a long-term solution, ahead of the elections in both the states. While assembly elections in Chhattisgarh will be held at the end of this year, in Odisha, urban local body elections are scheduled in November this year followed by assembly elections in May 2019.

In the last few years, the Chhattisgarh government has begun constructing barrages across Mahanadi upstream purportedly for using the river water for industrial purposes. Reportedly, construction of six barrages – Kalma, Saradihi, Mironi, Basantpur, Seorinarain and Samoda, which could store 27.48 million acre-feet (MAF) water, has been completed, while seven other barrages are under construction. In opposition to this, in July 2016, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that such barrages would hamper the water flow into Hirakud dam, affecting agriculture in the state. He demanded an immediate stay on these projects. With the central government delaying to resolve the issue, Odisha government moved to the Supreme Court. Consequently, the apex court, in January this year, ordered the central government to set up Mahanadi Tribunal. Following which, the Ministry of water resources constituted the tribunal in March this year.

The  Mahanadi river basin is spread over Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and small parts of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and drains an area of 1,41,589 sq km.

Speaking to Newsclick, Ashok Swain, UNESCO Chair of International Water Cooperation, and the Director of Research School of International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University opined that the leaders of the two states have to resolve the dispute by approaching a long-term water sharing solution rather than further politicizing the matter. The central question to the conflict is between the two claims, historical use and equitable use. “Odisha is opposing the barrages in Chhattisgarh mainly due to its claim over the river because of historical use, whereas, Chhattisgarh claims that its barrages upstream will enable it to equitably use the river water, which it has not been able to do yet,” Swain said. He further added that due to the increasing demand and decreasing supply of water, upper riparian states have started building dams and barrages in recent years, which has been a worldwide phenomenon.

“Since there are no existing legal agreements between the two states, even the Tribunal might take several years to resolve the matter,” Swain said. As per the provisions of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, the tribunal is required to submit its report within three years, which can be extended for a period not exceeding two years.

In India, while various state governments are politicising inter-state water sharing disputes for their political benefits rather than resolving it with amicable solutions, the interests of poor farmers and sustainability of rivers will always remain at the losing end.