Patnaik inaugurates projects in Kotia region ahead of rural polls in Andhra Pradesh

We are workingto bring the benefits of development to every family in everycorner of the state, Patnaik said.The government appointed a new district magistrate forKoraput during the day.Odisha and neighbour Andhra Pradesh are at loggerheads for the past several decades as both claim theirjurisdiction over Kotia Gram Panchayat.

Odisha Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik Friday inaugurated virtually a slew of developmentprojects and laid the foundation stones for some others inKotia gram panchayat which is caught in a border row withAndhra Pradesh.

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced electionin three villages of the panchayat, which falls in tribalKoraput district of Odisha, on February 13 and 17.

Patnaik Friday virtually inaugurated developmentprojects worth Rs 18 crore and laid the foundation stone forworks of another Rs five crore. He also laid the foundationstone of a bridge, which will incur a cost of Rs five crore.

Kotia will be transformed into an ideal grampanchayat, he announced adding the Odisha government hasdeveloped all facilities like education, healthcare,communication, drinking water, electricity in the panchayatarea.

Programmes have been undertaken to ensure social andfood security and initiatives have been taken for livelihoods,he said.

Patnaik had announced a Kotia development packageworth Rs 150 crore in 2018.

I am working for development of all regions fromMalkangiri (in sothern Odisha) to Mayurbhanj (in the northernpart of the state) and from Koraput to Cuttack. We are workingto bring the benefits of development to every family in everycorner of the state, Patnaik said.

The government appointed a new district magistrate forKoraput during the day.

Odisha and neighbour Andhra Pradesh are at loggerheads for the past several decades as both claim theirjurisdiction over Kotia Gram Panchayat. Of the total 28villages under the panchayat, Andhra Pradesh claims 21 of themand provides various benefits to over 5,000 residents in theregion.

Andhra Pradesh has also provided Aadhar cards to thepeople of the region.

The Odisha government has alleged that theneighbouring state has been luring people to Kotia grampanchayat as the region has rich reserves of mineralresources.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan in a series of tweets in Odia saidProbably we have not been successful in giving the requiredimportance to the Kotia issue. We have not worked to keep thepeople connected.

Earlier, I had visited Kotia area and talked to thepeople there. I had also suggested the chief minister to takeall political parties and organizations into confidence toresolve the issue, Pradan said adding that everyonenotwithstanding their political affiliations should worktogether as Andhra Pradesh has started making claims overOdisha villages.

Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishrasaid that Andhra Pradesh holding rural polls in Odishajurisdiction proved Patnaik's weak leadership.

The chief minister cannot ensure safety of the state,he alleged.

The Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border controversy in Kotiais a long-standing issue and the mere transfer of the districtmagistrate will not resolve it, Mishra said.

Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati claimed that manypeople in Kotia gram panchyat area favour Andhra Pradesh dueto the decades-long deprivation by the Odisha government.

BJP leader Jayram Pangi alleged that Andhra Pradeshsintrusion speaks of its dominance in Kotia region.