Evidently stung by the widespread criticism that he had done precious little for river water conservation during the last 18 years, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced that Rs 75,000 crore will be spent in the next five years for developing the state’s water resources and a river policy will be formulated in three months.
It is pertinent to note that the ruling party launched a Mahanadi Surakshya Abhijan yesterday with the CM flagging it off and dubbing the BJP as anti-Odisha for impeding flow of Mahanadi by allowing construction of barrages and dams upstream of the river in Chhattisgarh.
He had said that the government has plans of water storage, mega lift irrigation points, barrages and so on involving no displacement. The BJP had lambasted the CM saying for 18 long years, he had held the water resources portfolio and done nothing to conserve water – 57 percent of Mahanadi water flow to the sea.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had hit out saying the CM had promised to irrigate 90 percent of the land and had also said 35 percent irrigation in each block of the state. Pradhan said the CM and the BJD were raking up the Mahanadi issue for narrow political gains.
The BJD does not want to resolve the water dispute, it wants to keep it alive for narrow electoral gains, he had charged. Perhaps sensing that the fact that not a single barrage had been built over the last 18 years downstream of Mahanadi, the CM on Thursday said a comprehensive river water policy will be framed in three months time.
Several barrages will be constructed on the Mahanadi river to store water which will be utilised for agricultural purposes as well as drinking water.
Official sources said the Odisha government is preparing a master plan to utilise the Mahanadi’s waters by constructing as many as seven barrages in the downstream of the river and 22 barrages on tributaries and distributaries of the river. The government would also spend Rs 400 crore in next 3 years for concrete lining of the Bargarh main canal, the statement from CMO said.