Panel on water use to submit report soon

The Orissa government has formed a panel to rationalise the water linkage to various industries from Baitarani basin.

The panel is headed by the Engineer in Chief (EIC) in the water resources department and has members from the steel and mines department, Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Ipicol) and Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).

The task force on steel headed by the secretary, steel and mines department, in its meeting today approved the constitution of the committee, sources said.

“A committee has been formed to rationalise water linkage from Baitarani river basin and it has been asked to submit its report within 2 weeks”, Manoj Ahuja, secretary, steel and mines department, told Business Standard.

The panel would assess the total availability of water in the Baitarani river basin and examine whether the companies, which had been given water permission, are actually drawing water or not. It would also verify whether the water drawal by industries conform to the benchmarking done by the consultants, MN Dastur, appointed by Ipicol.

It was also decided that the government would provide the final water clearance to the projects, which had earlier received in principle clearance, only after assessing the physical and financial progress of the projects.

The decision comes at a time when the non-availability of enough water is causing delay in the approval of some green field projects in the state.

Along with rationalisation of water linkage from river Baitarani, the committee would also come out with its suggestions on construction of barrages as directed by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA).

The chief minister Naveen Patnaik has instructed the water resources department to construct barrages with participation from the private industries.