How do you compare this year’s flood with that of 2011? Do you expect the threat to scale down in the next few days?

The flood intensity is quite low as compared to 2011, when the maximum flow of water to the Mahanadi river was from the Tel, a major tributary of the Mahanadi river system. At that time, 9.75 lakh cubic feet per second (cusecs) water was released from the reservoir system, which was later joined by the water of the Tel river. At that time, around three lakh to four lakh cusecs of water emptied into the Mahanadi at Khairmal. Around 13.70 lakh cusecs of water had passed through the Mundali barrage. But it is not the same this time. Now the maximum water passing through the Mundali was 11.05 lakh cusecs. There has been no major breach of embankments this year compared to the breaches that occurred in the embankments of Bhargavi, Daya, Kushabhadra in 2011 which had created a major problem.

Can we say that the situation is becoming normal in Mahanadi river system?

Yes. However, it will take sometime for the water to recede from the low-lying areas.

There has been concerns over the safety of Hirakud dam, the largest dam of the state. Cracks have developed in it. What is your take on this?

This dam is more than 60 years old and requires regular maintenance. We have been doing it and the cracks that were detected have been repaired. Steps have also been taken to repair the cracks that were noticed a few days ago. Experts from outside the state had already visited the site and given their suggestions. We are following them and have taken initiatives to repair the dam. I just want to mention that the cracks were noticed in the hydro station of the dam and not on its main part. Besides, we have our own engineers who have the expertise to deal with the situation. We are also using the latest technology for managing the reservoir system. We are in regular in touch with central water commission and our counterparts in Chhattisgarh during the flood on an hourly basis to know the exact amount of rainfall and discharge of water.

There have been allegations that the Rule Curve for Hirakud reservoir is not being followed and that is the reason the flood has been occurring time and again. According to this rule, the water level must be maintained at 615ft on August 11 and 630ft by September 30.

Rule Curve is not sacrosanct. And strictly speaking, you cannot maintain the rule curve. The rule curve is changed depending on the intensity of the rain. Water is released from the reservoir keeping the ground realities into account. We have to look into the safety of the people first and also the water to be released into the Mahanadi through its distributaries. Keeping all this in mind, either we have to close or open the gates. We violate the principle of rule curve depending on the situation. There is a team of engineers, who have been entrusted with the work. They are doing their job sincerely. It is easy to criticise. One can’t stop that. But one must know the ground reality before criticising.

There has been a demand to change the Rule Curve of Hirakud reservoir.

We are constantly studying the curve and it has been revised. The present 615ft height has been fixed after taking the Hirakud bed reservoir. The rule curve has been fixed at a greater height so that the water can be released for agriculture activities in the lean season.

Why is the upper Mahanadi basin so problematic?

Nearly 85 per cent of the catchment area (90,000sqkm) is situated on the upper parts of the Mahanadi. It’s a small dam when you compare it to the catchment area. We receive five to six times the volume of water as compared to the live storage capacity of the reservoir. Keeping this in mind, it had earlier been planned to construct three dams, one each at Naraj, Tikarapada and Hirakud, so that floodwater could be controlled and regulated better. But only the Hirakud dam came up. The other two dams could not come up because of stiff opposition following apprehension of large-scale displacement.

At the time of the flood, there is excess water. But in lean season, there is dispute over providing water to industries.

There is no dearth of water in the state. We have to use it judiciously. We are earning more than Rs 400 crore by selling water to industries. We have revised the water tariff for industries more than 10 times. We have also stipulated that in the post-monsoon period we will give only 10 per cent of live storage capacity of the reservoir to the industries. We have asked industrial houses to adopt water conservation technology such as recharging of ground water.

Is it possible to de-silt the Hirakud reservoir because siltation has raised the reservoir bed and reduced its storage capacity?

It is not possible to de-silt the dam. It is a huge reservoir. Nearly 17 to 18 per cent of the reservoir’s live capacity (above 590ft) has been lost because of siltation. Likewise, 50 per cent of its dead storage capacity (where no water can be supplied) has also been lost.

You have been in the department for almost six years now. How do you manage the department, which is under the supervision of the chief minister? You must be always under pressure?

There is absolutely no problem. The chief minister regularly reviews various plans and programmes of the department. Working with the chief minister makes you rather comfortable. He gives you the required space to work comfortably.

But it’s a big department...

(Smiles) It’s certainly a challenge to handle the department, which has a large number of wings. We also have the responsibility of constructing new dams and maintaining the existing barrages. We have been entrusted with the task of maintaining 16,000km of irrigation canals and flood control. If one is focused on his work, he can handle all the responsibilities smoothly.

You are one of the few bureaucrats who enjoy the trust of the chief minister. He also roped you in to settle the tussle between the daitatapatis (servitors) and the Jagannath temple administration during the last car festival.

I had the experience of working as the collector of Puri. I know most of the temple people personally. My experience and understanding of Puri helped me sort out the problem during rath yatra. It’s a great relief that with the co-operation from all, the festival passed peacefully.

Focussed and humble

An honest and dedicated IAS officer, Mohapatra (1986 batch), is known for his humility

He recently was in the spotlight for successfully handling the rath yatra, which had been marred by controversy

Mohapatra did his MSc in applied geology from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad

During his long career, he has held a number of important positions. He has been the collectors of Bhadrak, Kandhamal and Puri

He has worked as the chief administrator of the Puri Jagannath temple and chairman of the Odisha Milk Federation

What would you have been if you had not been a bureaucrat?

After completing an MSc in applied geology from the Indian School of Mines, I had joined ONGC as a geo-scientist. Had I not been in the IAS, I would have continued with that job.