Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Jan. 20: The BJD today expressed its doubt over the efficacy of the negotiation committee set up by the Centre yesterday on Mahanadi river dispute.

BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said: " The state government has not received the terms of reference of the committee. However, prima facie, the BJD is apprehensive on how far the committee will be helpful in resolving the inter-state dispute."

Deb said the meetings at the level of chief ministers and chief secretaries of the two states had failed to resolve the dispute.

"Odisha wanted the construction of barrages to be stopped first when negotiations were taking place. However, the works have not stopped. It seems the Centre does not want to resolve the dispute. Rather, its dilatory tactics have helped Chhattisgarh in going ahead with the constructions. The constitution of the negotiation committee will give opportunity to complete the constructions," said Deb.

Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati, however, said the announcement was a poll stunt. Keeping the ongoing panchayat polls in view, the Centre had made the announcement.

"The Centre should constitute a river dispute tribunal instead of referring it to a negotiation committee. The state government should reject the committee."

Incidentally, a delegation of the state unit of Samajwadi Party, led by Rabi Behera, today met the state election commission officials and said the announcement violated the model code of conduct that is in force in the state.

The BJP state unit president Basant Panda, on the other hand, said the Opposition parties were enacting political drama on the issue and were not interested in resolving the dispute.

Odisha affidavit

The state government has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that fresh water flow from the Mahanadi to the Chilika is "vital for sustenance of the lake eco system and lake fishery".

Over a million migratory birds - around 211 species, including 97 on from beyond India's borders - visit Chilika every year. The lagoon is one of the only two lakes in the world that support the highly threatened Irrawaddy dolphins. The lake supports 334 species of fish and two lakh fishermen and women earn over six per cent of the state's foreign exchange.

In an affidavit, the state water resources department has pointed out that the Chilika lake at the southern margin of the Mahanadi delta currently receives 45 to 75 per cent of its fresh water inflow from the Mahanadi during the monsoon. "This water flow comes through the Kathajodi and Kuakhai, and consequently the Daya and Bhargavi distributaries. The fresh water inflows influence the biogeochemistry of lake Chilka in several ways. Most importantly, it is the fresh water that drives the temporal and spatial salinity dynamics of the lake that partly determines the temporal and spatial mosaic of aquatic habitats," water resources department engineer-in-chief Suresh Kumar Jain said in the affidavit.

"Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Chilika lake, Ansupa lake and Mahanadi delta mangrove eco-system are the important hot spots and part of the Mahanadi system which would be impacted due to alteration of flow from Mahanadi system," the affidavit said.