The Mahanadi river water dispute tribunal on Monday issued a warning to Odisha and Chhattisgarh to conclude the key minutes of an inter-state meeting on water availability. It said that upon failure, it will proceed to adjudicate the decade-long river dispute on its merits. Mahanadi, originating in Chhattisgarh, flows 857 km before entering Odisha. (HT File Photo) The tribunal, chaired by Justice Bela M. Trivedi and comprising members Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Indermeet Kaur Kochhar pointed out the slow pace of the proceedings. “Though on April 11 both the counsel for the states had jointly submitted that the minutes of the meeting held on April 8 with regard to the annual water availability in mean annual flow would be finalised by April 20, the respective advocate generals have again sought further time to submit the minutes of the said meeting, which according to them was on very crucial issue,” it said. It further said, “We are not very happy with the manner in which the proceedings of these references are being conducted. The proceedings are …