A team of State officials visited the disputed Kotia group of villages in Pottangi block of Koraput district on Friday and took stock of the situation arising out of the meddling in the Odisha jurisdiction by the Andhra Pradesh Government.
The panel comprising IG of Police Sanjib Panda, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Director Ashok Kumar Nayak, Additional Secretary Sashadhar Nayak and Rural Development Department Chief Engineer Ashutosh Mallick inspected the illegal road construction in the area by the Andhra Pradesh Government and held discussions with the local authorities regarding distribution of sops to villager by Andhra Pradesh officials.
Besides, the team reviewed various welfare measures undertaken by the Odisha Government in the disputed region.
The officials visited different villages in the Kotia region and held talks with locals about their problems. The team has been directed to submit a report to the Government after discussions with the district administration.
Worried about the repeated interference of the Andhra Pradesh Government in the Kotia group of villages, the Odisha Government constituted the high-level team to take stock of the ground realities before deciding on its course of action to thwart the threat from its AP counterpart.
The cluster of 21 villages in the Kotia area is claimed by both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. And both the States have been implementing welfare schemes in the region.
The dispute between the two States came to the fore in January after a team of officials from Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh had visited the area and distributed freebies like blankets and solar lights to the villagers. Soon later, the neighbouring State has also allegedly started road construction and a process for providing Aadhaar cards to the local residents.