Patna, Aug. 4: Patna High Court today issued notices to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh governments seeking their stand on allegations of water pilferage by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) from Rihand reservoir.

The order for issuing notices was given by a division bench comprising Justices S.K. Katriar and J.N. Singh after hearing a PIL filed by former legislator Sarayu Rai.

Rai in the PIL had alleged that NTPC was pilfering water from Rihand sub-basin for its projects, creating acute irrigation and drinking water problems in Bihar's Buxar, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Patna, Kaimur and Jehanabad districts in the Sone river belt.

Rai also prayed to the court to direct Bihar government to take care of the plight of farmers of Sone canal river area.

The Bihar government had yesterday declared 28 out of 38 districts as drought-hit due to scanty rainfall. The state registered a shortfall of 23 per cent rainfall over the past one year.

Rihand dam is located at Pipri in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. It is built on Rihand river, a tributary of Sone.

NTPC's alleged water pilferage is in gross violation of the Bansagar Agreement, 1973 and also against the guidelines laid down in the National Water Policy in 1987 through which priority was accorded to drinking water and irrigation facilities for sharing the water from Rihand sub-basin.

Rai contended that NTPC, in connivance with the Uttar Pradesh government, was using water from Rihand reservoir for its thermal power plants, depriving Bihar’s eight districts — Patna, Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Buxar, Kaimur and Bhojpur and Jharkhand’s two districts — Palamu and Garhwa.

NTPC and UP government have planned a 23,000 MW power plant, a part of which has been commissioned. It has led to decrease in water discharge to Sone canal from Rihand dam.

If 23,000 MW power is generated using Rihand water, the state would eventually get nothing, Rai submitted, adding that Bihar’s share of water would come down to 2.52 million acre foot (MAF) of water instead of 7.25 MAF as per the tripartite agreement between Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

The BJP leader submitted that Sone canal was supposed to get a water discharge of 6,000 cusecs of water from Rihand reservoir but the illegal use of its water by NTPC has reduced the water discharge significantly.