Odisha, Andhra CMs to meet today, Kotia border dispute on top of agenda

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha-Andhra Pradesh dispute over a cluster of 21 villages under Kotia panchayat besides issues of common interest will be discussed during a meeting of chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his AP counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy here on Tuesday, official sources said.
A delegation of senior bureaucrats led by Odisha chief secretary Suresh Mohapatra and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Sameer Sharma will have deliberations in the first half of the day. The two CMs will meet in the evening at the Lok Seva Bhawan and take up the issues further.
A preparatory meeting of the state officials was held here on Monday on the issues to be taken up. Similarly, Reddy held discussions with his officials at his camp office in Guntur on the agenda with Naveen.
“This would be a rare occasion when CMs of the two neighbouring states will sit together over a cup of tea to talk on issues of mutual interest and iron out differences mutually instead of moving to the Centre or the Supreme Court. It would set a precedent,” said a senior government officer here.
While issues such as AP’s construction of Neradi barrage over the Vamsadhara river, for which more than 100 acre of land from Odisha needs to acquired, and Janjavathi project, in which more than 1,000 acre of Odisha land will be inundated, too would be part of the discussions, Odisha is eyeing an amicable solution to the contentious issue of Kotia.
Pointing out that the Supreme Court on August 31 has observed that the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border dispute due to the two states’ claims over Kotia should be solved through mutual discussions, a government officer said an early and amicable solution will help the area’s faster development.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan hoped mutual discussions between the two CMs would help solve differences over border, water and language-related issues.
“Many problems get solved in a democracy through mutual discussions. I sincerely hope the discussion at the highest level will help solve contentious issues,” part of a tweet by Dharmendra reads.
Hearing a contempt petition filed by Odisha, the SC has made an “oral observation” that the border dispute should be solved politically through talks between the two states. Odisha’s contention is that Andhra violated SC orders of December 2, 1968 and March 30, 2006, by holding panchayat elections in Talagaanjeipadar, Phatuseneri and Phagunaseneri villages against the SC’s status quo order.
These are among 21 villages to which both states stake claims; Odisha says these are part of Pottangi block in Koraput district while Andhra claims these to be part of Salur mandal under Vizianagaram district.
The Supreme Court on March 30, 2006, had disposed a suit filed by Odisha in 1968, holding that Parliament alone is authorised to determine the territorial limits of states and had ordered status quo till then.
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