Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi left for New Delhi on Thursday to attend a high-level meeting on the long-running Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
The meeting is scheduled to be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is expected to bring together Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil, and senior officials from both states.
Chief secretaries and technical experts from Odisha and Chhattisgarh are also expected to participate in the discussions, which could focus on finding a way forward in the decades-old disagreement over sharing Mahanadi river waters.
The meeting is being viewed as an important effort towards resolving the inter-state dispute, which has remained unresolved for years.
Ahead of the meeting, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed confidence in the discussions. He said that with BJP governments in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and at the Centre, his government would accept the outcome reached through the meeting.
Chief Minister Majhi had earlier indicated that he hoped the long-standing issue could be resolved before Diwali.
The outcome of Thursday’s talks is expected to indicate whether the two states can move closer to a mutually acceptable framework on Mahanadi water sharing.