The Calcutta bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued a stay order on the projects, a mix of dams, barrages, irrigation channels among them, at various locations along the Mahanadi before the river enters Odisha's Sambalpur district. The Mahanadi river water has emerged into a major controversy between the two states with Odisha accusing Chhattisgarh of going ahead with projects that could weaken the water flow and affect people's livelihoods downstream in Odisha. "Multiple projects along this river in Chhattisgarh have already reduced the water flow and the new projects will make things only worse." "Adequate water flow is required to safeguard the livelihood of people dependent on agriculture and fisheries in Odisha," Das said. Some parts of Odisha along the Mahanadi river are also experiencing decline groundwater levels.

Source: The Telegraph July 26, 2017 21:34 UTC