Mediation not adjudication, solution for Mahanadi river water dispute: Ex-SC judge Gowda

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Calling for an urgent political intervention to end the decades-long Mahanadi river water dispute, retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Gopala Gowda on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh to "come to the mediation table and settle it".

Addressing the "Mahanadi Sansad", Gowda said the issue remained unresolved for years despite being referred to the Mahanadi River Water Dispute Tribunal in 2018.

"We request the Prime Minister and two Chief Ministers of both the states to come for a mediation table and settle it," he said.

"Seven years have elapsed since the matter was referred to the Tribunal. Pleadings are completed, witnesses listed, evidence filed, but the process is so long-drawn that it may take decades," he added.

He warned that the prolonged adjudication could prove disastrous for both states, particularly for downstream communities in Odisha, who are already facing depleted river flows due to what he called "unauthorised barrages" in Chhattisgarh.

"Lakhs of fishermen are deprived of their livelihood. The livelihood deprivation is a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," he said.

Gowda argued that the Union government must take a "proactive role" in mediating the dispute under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, rather than leaving it to lengthy judicial processes.

"Adjudication has no resolution. One party may get justice, another may not. This kind of problem must be addressed seriously by bringing the states to the discussion table," he said, calling the current approach "a failure of governance." Advocating mediation, conciliation and negotiation as alternatives, the former Orissa High Court Chief Justice said such mechanisms were globally accepted for resolving complex inter-state issues.

"We are not dealing with an individual case but with millions of people whose lives depend on this river," he reiterated.

Gowda said that he had witnessed firsthand the poverty and struggles of the state's riverine communities, and urged civil society participants and experts present at the event to "give their viewpoints and valuable solutions" to build public opinion and press for mediation.

"We wanted good mediators. Mediation must take place. For that, we have to create public opinion," he said.

The Mahanadi Sansad, convened by activist Sudarshan Das of the Mahanadi Bachao Andolan, brought together experts, former officials, and activists to deliberate on the long-standing water-sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh and to explore an amicable resolution outside the tribunal process. PTI UZM SHS OZ OZ