Centre rejecting Mahanadi tribunal a disinformation: Pradhan

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said it is not true that the Centre has rejected Odisha's demand for constituting a tribunal to resolve the Mahanadi river water row with Chhattisgarh.
Some people are spreading disinformation claiming that the Centre has refused to set up the tribunal, either due to their ignorance or for political purpose, Dharmendra, also a BJP leader said.
"The Centre in its recent affidavit to the Supreme Court has never refused to form tribunal to resolve Mahanadi river water issue," the petroleum minister told reporters.
Odisha has been opposing construction of a number of barrages and dams by Chhattisgarh on the upper reaches of the Mahanadi river saying it would affect the interests of its farmers.

The Centre had told the Supreme Court on December 6 that the ongoing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over Mahanadi should be sorted out through negotiations between the parties concerned.
Pradhan said the Centre was in the process of finalising a law to constitute a composite tribunal which would deal with all inter-state river water disputes in the country.
The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill 2017 has already been introduced in Lok Sabha for the purpose.
The new mechanism would ensure that river water disputes are resolved in a time-bound manner in three years, Pradhan said.