Amit Shah to chair talks between Odisha and Chhattisgarh chief ministers on Mahanadi water sharing

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai of Chhattisgarh will convene on Thursday with Union home minister Amit Shah chairing the session, seeking to resolve the protracted Mahanadi water-sharing dispute. State advocate general Pitambar Acharya indicated that the talks could produce a mutually acceptable outcome, building on a September 20 meeting in Bhubaneswar where the leaders discussed the issue for over an hour.

The Central Water Commission has provided the tribunal with details of the two previous inter-state meetings, and both states have submitted joint data estimating the river’s annual availability at 62.36 million acre-feet, with Odisha’s share at 33.17 MAF and Chhattisgarh’s at 28.94 MAF. The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, established in 2018, has urged the parties to negotiate, while technical discussions have continued among the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the CWC and senior state officials.

Chhattisgarh’s chief minister expressed confidence that the dispute will be settled soon and that any CWC recommendations beneficial to both sides would be accepted. The upcoming meeting represents the latest effort to achieve a negotiated settlement.