Mahanadi Water Dispute: Odisha and Chhattisgarh Move Towards a Negotiated Settlement
A high-level meeting on the Mahanadi river water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh was held in New Delhi on 1 October 2026, chaired by the Union Home Minister. The Chief Ministers of both states attended.
Odisha said the process is on track to reach an amicable (friendly, agreed) settlement within the three-month window set at a meeting chaired by the Union Jal Shakti Minister on 30 July 2026.
Both states have submitted the proposals and documents that were asked of them. Technical support is coming from the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Centre's main technical body on water.
Odisha raised its needs for irrigation, flood control, hydropower, drinking water and other uses. Chhattisgarh pointed out that the river starts in Chhattisgarh and that more than half of its catchment (the area that drains into the river) lies in the state, and asked for a "win-win" solution based on fairness and scientific assessment.
An expanded technical committee, headed by the CWC Chairman with officials of both states, will meet on 13 October 2026. The Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Bela M. Trivedi, will hear the case next on 15 October 2026.
Article 262 and the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956
When a river flows through two or more states, those states often fight over how much water each one should get. Article 262 of the Indian Constitution gives Parliament the power to make a special law to settle such fights. Using this power, Parliament passed the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (ISRWD Act). Under this law, the Centre sets up a special body called a water disputes tribunal, made up of judges, which hears both sides and decides how the water should be shared.
The Mahanadi tribunal was set up under Section 4 of this Act in 2018 after Odisha's complaint under Section 3. The current push for a negotiated settlement, supported by the Central Water Commission, reflects the Act's original idea that talks should come first. Any agreement the two states reach is expected to be placed before the tribunal, which is due to hear the case on 15 October 2026.
The Mahanadi River System
The Mahanadi, meaning "the great river", is one of the major east-flowing rivers of peninsular India. It rises in the hills of Chhattisgarh, flows east through Odisha, and falls into the Bay of Bengal. Its basin covers about 1,41,589 sq km, which is nearly 4.3% of India's land area. It is the lifeline of central Chhattisgarh's rice plains and of Odisha's coastal delta.
The current talks are about exactly this geography. Chhattisgarh stresses that the river rises in its territory and that it holds more than half the basin. Odisha stresses its downstream needs for Hirakud, irrigation, flood control and the delta. The expanded technical committee under the CWC Chairman is working on the scientific numbers that any fair sharing formula will need.
- High-level meeting on the Mahanadi dispute: 1 October 2026, New Delhi
- Earlier meeting chaired by the Union Jal Shakti Minister: 30 July 2026; three-month target for a solution
- Expanded technical committee (headed by the CWC Chairman): next meeting 13 October 2026
- Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal: set up 12 March 2018; chaired by Justice Bela M. Trivedi; next hearing 15 October 2026; term till 13 January 2027
- Mahanadi: about 851 km long; basin about 1,41,589 sq km; Chhattisgarh about 53%, Odisha about 46%
- Constitutional basis: Article 262; law: Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (complaint under Section 3)