BJD burns effigy of Raman Singh over Mahanadi dispute
The ruling BJD in Odisha on Saturday burnt an effigy of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh as part of its…
The Odisha cabinet on Sunday formally endorsed the stand taken by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the Mahanadi water dispute with the Chhattisgarh government and said all options, including legal, will be explored and a decision announced soon.
The cabinet decided to take all steps to protect the interest of Odisha. The state Cabinet met here under the Chairmanship of chief minister Naveen Patnaik to chalk out its strategy after the tripartite meeting called by the Union water resource minister Uma Bharati at New Delhi yesterday had failed.
Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting chief secretary A P Padhi said the state government will take a decision on its future course of action very soon.
Advertisement
Asked whether the government would move the Supreme Court to get justice, the chief secretary said, “We are exploring all possibilities and a definite statement in this regard cannot be given now.”
Padhi said at the tripartite meeting the chief minister had expressed his concern over the unilateral construction of barrages on the upstream of Mahanadi river and the damage it would cause to the state.
Odisha has asserted that all construction activities upstream of Mahanadi by the Chhatisgarh government should be stopped. But the Chhatisgarh chief minister Raman Singh did not give any assurance to stop the construction work.
The state government, he said did not agree to the proposal of the Chhatisgarh to set up a joint control board to resolve the issue.
“We did not agree because the board does not have an statutory power.” said Padhi.
Advertisement
