The Odisha government on Friday decided to put on hold a proposed all-party meeting regarding the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh. Despite the postponement, the government asserted its commitment to safeguarding the river, which it described as a vital “heritage” for the people of the state.
This was stated by Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, who chaired an inter-departmental meeting convened specifically to address the ongoing Mahanadi conflict in Bhubaneswar.
While the meeting was deferred, Singh Deo did not reveal the exact reasons behind the decision to postpone the all-party meeting on the Mahanadi water dispute.
In a post on X, he, however, said, “Joined my colleagues Shri Prithviraj Harichandan, Hon’ble Minister of Law, Works & Excise, and Shri Suresh Pujari, Hon’ble Minister of Revenue & Disaster Management at the Inter Ministerial Committee follow up on Mahanadi. Our deliberations were not just about a river, but about safeguarding Odisha’s heritage, strengthening our agriculture, and securing resilience for tomorrow.”
"Joined my colleagues Shri Prithviraj Harichandan, Hon’ble Minister of Law, Works & Excise, and Shri Suresh Pujari, Hon’ble Minister of Revenue & Disaster Management at the Inter Ministerial Committee follow up on Mahanadi. Our deliberations were not just about a river, but… pic.twitter.com/NANr8ECVCK
— Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo (Modiji Ka Parivar) (@KVSinghDeo1) January 23, 2026
Emphasising the Mahanadi River’s importance, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan described the river as the state’s lifeline and a heritage for the state. Harichandan said, “The agriculture sector of our state, along with the livelihoods of the state’s residents, is also dependent on the waters of the Mahanadi. In today’s meeting, discussions were held regarding the security of all these.”
Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari claimed that the current BJP government is exerting its best efforts to resolve the long-standing issue. He said, “We (the BJP govt) inherited this (Mahanadi) problem from the previous BJD government, which did not oppose the neighbouring Chhattisgarh when it built barrages on the upstream of the river. The previous government took legal action only after the projects were completed.”
Pujari, a lawyer by profession, pointed out that the legal battle has become complicated because Chhattisgarh has submitted documents to the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) quoting the then Odisha’s water resource minister saying in the Assembly that barrages built by the neighbouring state will not impact the state.
“This statement of the BJD minister has become a major hurdle for us in the tribunal,” said Pujari.
Sources suggest the postponement came just a day after the opposition BJD, led by former CM Naveen Patnaik, held a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting. During the meeting, the BJD adopted an aggressive stance, planning to revive state-wide protests over the government’s alleged inaction on the Mahanadi issue.
The BJD has criticised the “double-engine” government for failing to protect the river, reiterating that the Mahanadi remains the lifeline of Odisha.
The state government, which has been trying to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute through negotiation, had initially called for the all-party meeting to forge a unified political front before entering into inter-state negotiations with Chhattisgarh over water-sharing arrangements.
Pujari further stated that with the MWDT’s tenure set to expire in April, the state government has requested a nine-month extension from the Centre. He explained that tribunal proceedings were delayed for nine months due to the absence of a chairman; consequently, only one witness has been recorded since 2018. The next hearing is slated for February 7.
Meanwhile, Mahanadi Bachao Andolan (MBA), an organisation spearheading agitation demanding equitable sharing of the Mahanadi river, in a letter to the Chhattisgarh chief minister, sought removal of unauthorised sand bund over the river below Kalma Barrage.
“A delegation of MBA will visit Kalma Barrage area on January 27 to monitor the situation. If the Chhattisgarh government does not break the sand dam, people will do it,” MBA convenor Sudarsan Das told a press conference.
