Odisha unveils welfare projects for villages caught in border row with Andhra

Inaugurating several welfare projects worth ₹18 crore including laying the foundation stone of a ₹5 crore bridge through video-conferencing, Patnaik said Kotia gram panchayat on the Andhra-Odisha border would be developed into a model gram panchayat.

Published on: Feb 5, 2021, 20:03:15 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday unveiled a slew of developmental projects for the villages bordering Andhra Pradesh in Koraput district even as the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government stoked the on-going border dispute by allegedly including three villages of Odisha in its electoral roll and conducting gram panchayat elections there.

Inaugurating several welfare projects worth ₹18 crore including laying the foundation stone of a ₹5 crore bridge through video-conferencing, Patnaik said Kotia gram panchayat on the Andhra-Odisha border would be developed into a model gram panchayat. “The state government has already implemented developmental activities in the sectors of education, health, communication, drinking water, and electricity,” he said, assuring that he would be visiting the panchayat soon.

The CM's unveiling of projects worth ₹18 crore came in addition to the on-going projects of ₹150 crore for the development of 21 disputed villages in Kotia gram panchayat under Potangi block of Koraput where neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is also asserting its authority by distributing forest land rights and buildings roads.

The Chief Minister’s programme came days after Andhra Pradesh upped the ante in the on-going border dispute by including three villages of Kotia GP in their panchayat poll notification. As per a notification issued by the AP government, panchayat polls would be held in 3 villages of Tala Ganjeipadar, Patu Sineri and Fagun Sineri villages under Kotia on February 13 and 17. The poll notification also changed their names to Ganjaibadra, Pattuchennuru and Pagulchennuru respectively.

An embarrassed Odisha government on Thursday night transferred Koraput district collector Madhusudan Mishra and brought in Abdal Akhtar as the new collector.

While over the last few years, Koraput district administration has extended mobile network and started road connectivity work to these disputed border villages, the Vizianagaram administration too started similar road development projects near the border at Salur.

Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are locked in a territorial dispute over Kotia gram panchayat since 1960. Though Kotia Gram Panchayat has 28 revenue villages, Odisha mistakenly did not survey 21 villages during its formation in 1936. At the time of creation of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1955, those 21 villages were also not surveyed by Andhra resulting in perpetual dispute over those bordering villages.

Meanwhile, opposition Congress slammed the state government for failing to take concrete steps to resolve the dispute. "If Andhra Pradesh conducts GP election and elects sarpanchs, Zilla Parishads and members here, nothing is more shameful than this. Most of the Kotia people are leaning towards Andhra as they are getting deprived of basic amenities from Odisha government. Andhra Pradesh is focussed on Kotia only for its gold mines. Locals of the region are also inclining towards the neighbouring State as Odisha government has done no concrete developmental works. Instead of just launching projects, CM Naveen should visit Kotia to review the ground situation,” said Congress MLA of Jeypore, Taraprasad Bahinipati.

Former BJP leader from Koraput, Jayaram Pangi said earlier Andhra Pradesh used to nominate a sarpanch, ward members and samiti members in these villages. "However, from this year, they are formally conducting elections by setting booths, filing nomination and organising voting.”

Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the state may have failed to grasp the importance of Kotia. “We have not given due importance to the developmental needs of the people of the area. I had visited Kotia earlier and discussed with the local people. I had also requested CM to call an all-party meeting on the issue of border dispute. This is the right time to resolve the dispute,” said Pradhan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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