Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Odisha has rejected to give consent to Andhra Pradesh on publishing the orders of the Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (VWDT) in the official gazette, as the matter is sub-judice and to be decided upon under a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Apex Court. The same has been confirmed by the Department of Water Resources, Government of Odisha on Tuesday.
On September 13, 2017, the Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal had allowed the state of Andhra Pradesh to construct the Neradi Barrage on the Vamsadhara river. However, the State of Odisha had then immediately filed an SLP before the Supreme Court on December 12, 2017, against the orders of the Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal on the basis that the Tribunal overlooked important conditions specified in the various inter-state agreements made between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
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"The State of Odisha had also filed an application for the clarification before the Vamsadhara Tribunal against its final order of 13.09.2O17. The Tribunal pronounced the further report on 21.06.2021, wherein the Tribunal has, by and large, kept its final order dated 13.09.2017 intact, but the matter is subject to the finalization of SLP in the Hon'ble Supreme Court. In view of the pending SLP No. 8030/2018 and SLP No. 27930/20 27930/2019 in the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the order of the Hon’ble Tribunal dated 13.09.2017 & 21.06.2021 cannot be published in the Official Gazette under section 6(1) of the Inter-State River Water Dispute Act,1956, which is essential for operationalization of order of the Tribunal,” the Department of Water Resources, Government of Odisha stated.
Odisha has also filed an SLP against the order dated 23.09.2019 of the Vamsadhara Water Dispute Tribunal directing a joint survey in the territory of Odisha, which is also pending before the Supreme Court. Senior Advocate, Gopal Subramanium, is defending the case for Odisha in the Supreme Court. It is known that Andhra Pradesh wants to build the Neradi barrage across the river, which will be possible only after Odisha’s consent.
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Vamsadhara is an east-flowing river that originates in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, and flows into Andhra Pradesh and finally joins the Bay of Bengal at Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
