Bhubaneswar, March 1 Odisha's Advocate General (AG) Pitambar Acharya said on Sunday that the state's BJP government was taking steps to rectify the "historical blunder" made by the previous BJD regime, which led to the Mahanadi water dispute with neighboring Chhattisgarh.
Acharya made the statement while speaking to reporters in Puri on the sidelines of a visit by members of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) to the state.
"The previous government committed a historic blunder by not opposing the construction of dams in Chhattisgarh. We are taking corrective measures to bring things in favor of the people of Odisha," he said.
"When the neighboring state was building reservoirs on the upper stream of the Mahanadi river, the previous government claimed that there would be no impact on the water flow even if 100 such dams were built," he added.
Criticizing those who described the tribunal's visit as "a picnic," the AG said that they were against Odisha's interests.
Members of the tribunal visited the Hirakud reservoir and Satkosia gorge, and would visit the Chilika Lake on Monday.
"These places have been declared as Ramsar sites, and these areas are directly linked to the natural flow of water in the Mahanadi," Acharya said.
"Tribunal members are visiting Odisha to assess the situation on the ground. They would also visit Chhattisgarh from March 7 to 11," he said.
As the tenure of the tribunal will end on April 13, both Odisha and Chhattisgarh have requested a nine-month extension, which is now under consideration by the Centre.
The tribunal was constituted in 2018 after Odisha alleged that the construction of barrages by Chhattisgarh in the upper reaches of the Mahanadi had obstructed its natural flow, adversely affecting farmers in downstream areas.