Odisha government today hit back at Chief Minister Raman Singh over his comment that its concern over construction of barrages and dams over Mahanadi river by Chhattisgarh government are "politically motivated", saying raising an issue affecting the state's people cannot be "political".
"It is not political to raise an issue affecting the people of the state. How did Chhattisgarh carry out construction of barrages and dams unilaterally without consulting Odisha? We will not compromise with the state's interest," Odisha's Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra told reporters here.
Rejecting Odisha's objection on the construction in upper portion of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh side, Raman Singh yesterday said: "Odisha CM Patnaik never raised these issues with Chhattisgarh. The concerns are politically motivated and not based on facts and figures. The inter-state sharing of water is a sensitive issue and should not be used for political gains."
Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention to stop these constructions by the Chhattisgarh government.
Mahanadi is the 'lifeline' of Odisha as the fate of the state's 65 per cent population is dependent on it, wrote Patnaik who also raised the matter in the inter-state council meeting held at New Delhi earlier this month.
The industries minister said two new projects, Pairy-Mahanadi Intra State Link Project and Tandula Reservoir Augmentation Scheme on Mahanadi river project will severely affect flow of water in Hirakud reservoir of Odisha.
This apart, he said, Chhattisgarh government is also contemplating construction of a reservoir based dam in Kelo river adjacent to Odisha border.
