Bhubaneswar: To keep the contentious river issue alive till the next general elections, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched the Green Mahanadi Mission to protect it from soil erosion.

The mission is aimed at soil strengthening and creating a green belt along the banks of state's mightiest river and its tributaries Tel and Ib.

Despite an inclement weather, Naveen flew to Boudh and Sonepur districts in western Odisha to launch the Rs 500-crore mission that has a five-year deadline.

The project will help recharge groundwater along the Mahanadi banks. This year the mission has set a target to take up plantation over 20,000 hectares (ha) along the banks of the Mahanadi.

Naveen planted saplings to launch the mission on the banks of the Mahanadi at Budharaja in Sonepur and at Manamunda in Boudh district on the banks of Tel.

However, the Congress and the BJP have accused Naveen of playing politics with the elections in mind.

Sharing of Mahanadi water between Odisha and Chhattisgarh has become a bone of contention between the two states.Congress leader Jaydev Jena said: "After 19 years in power, the Naveen Panaik government has suddenly woken up to the need for plantation. It is just politics."

BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty said: "When a flood is looming large over the state, such stunts by the government show that it is indulging in politics."

BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said: "They had opposed the demand for a tribunal to settle the water-sharing dispute. What's wrong in creating greenery along the river?"

Forest minister Bijayshree Routray said the plantation would recharge groundwater along the Mahanadi and would save it from going dry.

Additional reporting by Sudeep Kumar Guru