Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who had been campaigning for the constitution of a tribunal, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision.

Naveen said: "We have been pleading with the Centre for setting up a tribunal to protect the interests of our state. Today, our stand has been vindicated. I heartily welcome the order of the Supreme Court to set up the tribunal. This will go a long way in protecting the interests of our people, especially the farmers."

While the BJD's Rajya Sabha MP Prasanna Acharya described the order as a victory for "truth and justice", former Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik said the development was expected but it was more important for the state to ensure that Chhattisgarh immediately stopped all work on the river.

The state's BJP, which had been vacillating on the demand for a tribunal apparently because of its loyalty towards the Centre and its sympathy for the party government in Chhattisgarh, said it had never opposed the tribunal move.

BJP veteran Bijoy Mohapatra, who had gone out on a limb demanding a tribunal to settle the dispute in the face of opposition from within the party, was expectedly elated at the court directive. "It is good for the state. Now both sides will have the opportunity to be heard in the matter."