How lack of coordination between Odisha and Chhattisgarh led to floods

An utter failure of coordination between Odisha and Chhatisgarh, which have been at loggerheads over sharing the Mahanadi river basin, seems to have resulted in the current floods. Ironically, during the non-monsoon months, the states are locked in a bitter dispute over the reduction of water quantity. 

On August 11, Hirakud dam authorities in Odisha opened 10 sluice gates to release excess water. The excess water flowed into the reservoir from the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi basin.

This was done after they were informed by the Chhattisgarh water resources department that they had opened the barrages on the Mahanadi River due to heavy rainfall in the state. There was no information shared between the two before August 11.

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The next day, 34 more gates of the dam were opened, followed by the closing of eight gates August 15 and then 40 of its 64 gates were opened August 16. 

Along with the rains lashing the state, the opening of gates to release excess water into the downstream areas resulted in heavy flooding. This happened even though the dam, commissioned in 1958, was meant to control floods.

Ideally, the two neighbour states should have been sharing regular information on the water inflow and the amount of water being received in the river as a result of rainfall. This would have helped them make efficient decisions on storing and releasing water in the Hirakud dam. 

Odisha water resources officials said Chhattisgarh officials asked them to open barrage gates and release water on August 11. Chhattisgarh accounts for 85 per cent of the catchment area of the river. 

“We don’t know how much water will come at a particular time. Chhattisgarh is not sharing information despite telephonic conversations and several tries by us,“ said Ananda Chandra Sahu, chief engineer and basin manager for Mahanadi, Odisha water resources department. 

“We don’t know when they opened the gates and released the water. They called us afterwards,“ Sahu added. 

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The reservoir level was 616 feet August 11. There was a sudden increase in water flow to Hirakud from Chhattisgarh barrages after that. 

The level was 626.41 feet August 18, against the full reservoir level of 630 feet, even as Hirakud dam authorities continued to release excess flood water through its 40 gates. 

The inflow of water in the reservoir August 17 was 642,055 cusecs, while the outflow was 680,175 cusecs. 

Calls to Chhattisgarh Engineer-in-Chief IJ Uikey and Chief Engineer Rakesh Kumar went answered. 

The dispute between the two states is nothing new. But the lack of coordination is hurting flood management. A meeting on dam safety was planned for July 13, but Chhattisgarh opted out of the meeting a few days before. The last coordination meeting between the two states was held in 2019. 

“Chhattisgarh is not sharing any information despite meditation from the Central Water Commission (CWC). I wrote several letters this year and last year; the officials did not reply. Our engineer-in-chief also wrote to them,” said Sahu. 

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The July 13 meeting was supposed to be on dam safety and sharing of information for better flood management, Sahu said. But a week before it, Chhattisgarh officials said they had to prepare for the assembly session beginning on July 20. 

The blame for failing to give proper information to the states falls on CWC, said Sudarshan Chhotoray from the Mahanadi Bachao Jeevika Bachao campaign. 

“There is a CWC office on Kalma barrage in Chhattisgarh. They should have provided timely information to Odisha, ideally. However, we have visited their office several times in the last 6-7 years and haven’t found anybody there,” he said. 

Experts also blame six industrial barrages constructed by Chhattisgarh — Samoda, Seorinarayan, Basantpur, Mirouni, Saradiha, and Kalma — on the upper reaches of Mahanadi for the flood. 

“The barrages are on the main course of the river, just upstream Hirakud, which joins the barrages above. It’s a tricky situation because the distance between the barrages has not been technically planned,” said Odisha-based water expert Ranjan Panda. 

Chhattisgarh is experiencing floods it did not experience earlier because of the faulty water obstruction and asked Odisha to release water, said Panda. 

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But Chhattisgarh is not alone to blame. Odisha has not been able to manage floods better on the Hirakud dam either. Its commitment to supplying water to industries from the reservoir has made it keep on storing water without a proper flood cushion — a buffer zone while storing water. 

This is ironic as the Hirakud dam was conceived to be essentially a flood control dam but has become multipurpose now. 

“The dam follows a rule curve, which tells it to keep filling up with water with anticipation that by the end of the monsoon, the reservoir will be full. But there is no flood cushion,” said Panda. 

A rule curve, practised internationally, is a dam operating schedule. It regulates when and how a dam should be filled and emptied. This ensures that the barrier is full to its capacity only towards the end of the monsoon. 

Experts have often called for a revision in the rule curve keeping in mind climate change and the increasingly erratic nature of the monsoon. Hirakud dam follows a rule curve established in 1968. 

Chhotoray points out that Odisha does not have a flood management plan. 

“Odisha only has a flood contingency plan. On top of that, the Mahanadi issue is still pending in the water tribunal,” the activist said. “To date, 28 hearings have happened in four years. We have demanded a midterm judgment.”

The tribunal was set up in 2018 to settle the dispute between the two states over sharing of Mahanadi water. 

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