Odisha has declined permission to the proposal of a 54-km link canal for diversion of 85 million cubic metre water from Mahanadi to Tandula dam in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
The State government, in a letter to Central Water Commission, has objected to construction of a series of water reservoirs by Chhattisgarh stating that it would reduce water availability in its irrigation projects including Hirakud reservoir which depends on Mahanandi.
In the latest case, Chhattisgarh had sought Odisha’s consent for constructing the link canal in Mahanadi basin to divert water to Tandula dam which has water deficiency. The project, as claimed by Chhattisgarh government, would have increased command area of Tandula dam from 85,400 hectare to 1,03,000 hectare.
In the upper part of Mahanadi basin, Chhattisgarh has built multipurpose reservoirs – Ravishankar Sagar, Dudhwa and Murrumusil. The last two supplement Ravishankar Sagar.
According Odisha’s Water Resource Department, the proposal is based on the presumption that Ravishankar Sagar project is a surplus reservoir.
“In order to justify this, a surplus water analysis table has been furnished by Chhattisgarh to establish that Ravishankar reservoir is surplus reservoir varying from 53.65 Mcum to 610.14 Mcum …. from 1981-82 to 2007-08. But below Ravishankar Sagar, there is a Rudri Barrage and the river crosses Chhattisgarh-Odisha boundary and enters Odisha to enrich the Hirakud reservoir,” said the department.
The Water Resource Department warned that “if the water diversion to the tune of 85 Mcum is being done unconditionally as per Tandula Reservoir requirement, Hirakud reservoir in Odisha is going to be severely affected during non-monsoon season.”
It needs to be mentioned that Chhattisgarh has not entered into any inter-State agreement with Odisha regarding Mahanadi basin water allocation. Experts have predicted that the two States would witness many bitter face-offs over Mahanadi water sharing in future. Mahanadi, sixth largest river in India, originates in Chhattisgarh and falls into the Bay of Bengal travelling 851 km of which 357 km lie in Chhattisgarh and 494 km in Odisha.
Odisha’s contention is that as Hirakud, built in 1950s, is a much older structure with multiple commitments with increasing demand structure and diversion at the cost of dilution of fulfilment of Hirakud commitment needs to be resisted on rational ground.
Odisha’s Water Resource department also charged that unilateral decision of Chhattisgarh government to construct a series of barrage just on the upstream of Hirakud reservoir without taking Odisha into confidence has resulted in threat to non-monsoon water availability at Hirakud.
“In order to create greater forum for covering all the basin-related water issues in future, an initiative towards an inter-State agreement on Mahanadi water sharing is highly solicited,” said J. B. Mohapatra, Odisha’s engineer-in-chief, Water Resource department.
“It will reduce water availability in the State’s irrigation projects including Hirakud reservoir which depends on Mahanandi”
Prasanta Patnaik