Cuttack, Jan. 16: The state government has pleaded before the National Green Tribunal that the ecological and environmental balance in Odisha below the Hirakud reservoir - particularly the bio-hotspots - would be "severely damaged if Chhattisgarh is permitted to use 27.48MAF (million acre-feet) water of the Mahanadi river".

In an affidavit, the state water resources department has contended that "its share in the Mahanadi water - 12.28MAF in minimum flow and 3.67MAF in surplus flow - would be prejudicially affected by the illegal action of Chhattisgarh state which has planned utilisation of huge quantity of 27.48MAF water in the Mahanadi".

"The Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Chilika lake, Ansupa lake and the Mahanadi delta mangrove eco-system are the important hotspots and part of the Mahanadi system, which would be impacted due to alteration of flow from the Mahanadi system," water resources department engineer-in-chief Suresh Kumar Jain said in the affidavit.

The state government filed the affidavit in response to a petition that had raised concern over bid to utilise huge quantity of water from the Mahanadi without statutory clearance from the ministry of water resources and the ministry of environment and forest. Shakti Prasad Nayak, president of the Nature Care Initiative, a New Delhi-based NGO, had filed the petition.

Highlighting the imminent fallout of change in the Mahanadi water flow, Jain pointed out the Indus river case in his affidavit filed on January 12. He said: "The impact of reduction of inflow of fresh water from the Indus because of water diversion for other purposes in the Indus delta mangroves in Pakistan has been disastrous. This resulted in severe environmental and social stresses in form of loss of habitat and biodiversity, decline in fish productivity and social problem for coastal communities is well recognised."

"Thus for sustaining the Mahanadi delta's mangrove system, which is the repository of globally threatened mangrove species, any alteration of flow would be detrimental and can lead to extinction of species," Jain said.

The state government alleged in the affidavit that the Chhattisgarh government had built eight major and 29 medium irrigation projects in upper catchment of the Mahanadi. Besides, four major and three medium irrigation projects are under construction.

Available information also indicates that the "Chhattisgarh government has taken up construction of six barrages on the main arm of the Mahanadi, just upstream of the Hirakud reservoir - Somada, Sheorinarayan, Basantour, Mironi, Satadihi and Kalma".

"These six barrages are immediately in the upstream of the Hirakud reservoir and located one after the another at short intervals creating an elongated pool of almost 100km stretch, very close to the inter-state border. Therefore, the impact of these six industrial barrages will be direct and immediate on the availability of water to the Hirakud dam," Jain said in the affidavit.