BJP urges Governor to use his authority

BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Sunday urged Governor M C Bhandare to exercise his constitutional authority to ensure formation of an independent expert committee to probe alleged mismanagement of water in Hirakud reservoir. “The devastating flood that hit the State last month was due to gross mismanagement of water at Hirakud dam by the State Government. An independent expert body must be constituted to probe the matter,” senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra told mediapersons here.  The independent panel should comprise experts on dams, Central Water Commission (CWC), India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other technical experts, he said, adding constitution of such a committee will be in the interest of the State. “An accused cannot judge his own crime,” Mohapatra said in response to the Government’s refusal to set up a committee. The expert panel formed in 2009 can inquire into the alleged violation of rule curve of Hirakud reservoir, he added.Since Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is not responding to queries raised by the Opposition, media and even the Governor, it is high time for the Governor to exercise his constitutional authority, Mohapatra said. After visiting many flood-affected areas, the Governor has seen the devastation caused by the recent government-made floods. The Governor did not act after the Kandhamal incident. The time has come to take action against the Government, he said.  Mohapatra alleged that the Government kept on accumulating water in the reservoir in order to cater to the needs of industries despite forecasts and warnings by Chhattisgarh, IMD and CWC about heavy rains and inflow of large volume of water into the Mahanadi river system from August 25 to September 10.The Government is against a probe by an independent expert body because it violated the rule curve deliberately. The Governor must intervene and exercise his authority in ensuring formation of an expert panel to get to the bottom of the truth, Mohapatra said.