New Delhi, Sept 1 (LAB) The Supreme Court today directed the Central government to hold talks between the governments of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the resolution of the water dispute related to the Polavaram dam and Godavari river.
Senior Advocate Gopal Subramaniam representing the government of Odhisa contended that the project being undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh Government was in violation of the recommendations of the Justice Bachawat Panel.
He added that the project would put the citizens of Odisha at risk of being submerged.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Vikram Nath said that this was a never-ending exercise since the costs kept going up, even when the project was not being developed and directed the Union government to bring all stakeholders on board and settle the issue through talks.
As per the Counsel representing Andhra Pradesh, there has not been any consensus between the states, while Rs 30,000 crore has already been spent so far.
The Bench pointed out that C.S. Vaidyanathan (Counsel for Telangana) has said the project has gone beyond what was envisaged.
The Apex Court said the Centre should initiate a meeting between the Chief Secretaries of the states involved, besides their Chief Ministers.
The bench suggested that the Ministries of Jal Shakti and Environment should play a pivotal role in these meetings and gave the Centre one month time to complete the process and submit a report before it.
The Supreme Court fixed December 7 as the next date of hearing in the case./ LAB/SNG/