Even as the State of Odisha is celebrating its 77th foundation day on Monday, disputes have hardly stopped pertaining to the claim of the Andhra Pradesh Government over a few border villages of Odisha. Prior to April 1, 1936, the villages of Kotia Panchayat were a part of the Jeypore Estate. To create a separate province on linguistic basis, the Government of India had issued an order in 1936.
In 1942, in the joint survey of Odisha, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, seven villages of Kotia Gram Panchayat namely Turia, Barabandha, Talakanti, Gumelpadara, Mathalamba, Suliamari and Katraguda under Patangi block were recorded as the revenue villages and revenue was collected accordingly by the Government of Odisha. In Kotia Gram Panchayat, there are a total of 28 revenue villages.
At the time of survey, 21 villages were mistakenly not surveyed. At the time of creation of Andhra Pradesh in 1955, the 21 villages were also not surveyed by the Andhra Pradesh Government. Both the States did not carry out survey at that time resulting in a perennial dispute. But as per the notification of the Government of India, it is clear these villages belong to Odisha, where the State Government has been carrying out all types of developmental works.
In the disputed areas, the State Government has constructed a Primary Health Center in 1968-69, a Revenue Inspector Office in 1963-64, a Police Out Post in 1968, a Gram Panchayat Office, a village agricultural centre, an office of agricultural overseer, a branch post office, a boarding school, a 380-bed hostel, a weekly market structure, parks and medicinal garden, a Gram Panchayat stock yard, a live stock aid centre, a water supply system, an Anganwadi centre and quarters for different Government officials.
The State Government has implemented different developmental schemes like NREGA, distribution of BPl cards among 831 families and job cards to 1,811 families etc, which were seen during a recent visit to the area by leaders of the Utkal Sammilani and Pattangi Block Chairman Bimala Pangi, ABDO Braja Mohan Puhana, Kotia Sarapanch Kanchana Tadingi and the revenue supervisor, the revenue Inspector, the APIO, the CDPO, the panchayat health worker, the animal health worker and Anganwadi worker etc. They had marked that the Government officials and the people at large are facing problems emanating from the boundary and man made situations.
The problems included stalling of official works due to the vacancy of the local Tehsildar post since long; no police deployment to maintain law an order ever since the Kotia police out post was sifted to Pattangi in 2004 due to Mao problem, electricity only in seven out of 36 revenue villages and hamlets, four teachers in the local Odia medium school for 443 students, and growing unemployment among the youth, among others.
Some technical problems are also apparent. The Andhra Pradesh Government is giving an assistance of Rs 80,000 for construction of Indira Awas in the villages where Odisha is giving only Rs 45,000.
In 1955, at the time of separation of Andhra Pradesh from the Madras Presidency, the Andhra Pradesh Government was not interested in these villages. In 1962-63, when the Andhra Pradesh Government knew that the hilly area inside the Kotia Panchayat is full of mineral resources like gold, platinum, manganese, bauxite, graphite and limestone etc, it began to claim rights over the Kotia clusters kicking off the dispute.
In 1964, the then Pattangi BDO BN Mahapatra and Tehsildar SS Nishanta had informed the Government of Odisha regarding Andhra Pradesh’s claim which had prompted the former to depute police in the area. To counter the Government of Odisha, the Andhra Pradesh Government deputed their police force to the area. To protest the illegal movement of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha had filed a case in 1968 in the Supreme Court. In the case, Odisha had demanded the right, title and possession over the 21 villages of Kotia Gram Panchayat and a halt to the Andhra Pradesh Government’s interference in the possession of these villages. In 1988, the Supreme Court imposed a temporary stay till the disposal of the case.
later, the Supreme Court appointed the District Judge of Koraput as Commissioner to record evidence on the disputed territory. In 2000, Commissioner-cum-District Judge Mukunda Mishra submitted the evidence of both the parties before the apex court. However, on March 30, 2006, the Supreme Court passed an order that according to the Article 131 of the Constitution, disputes belonging to the State boundaries are not within its jurisdiction. Therefore, the court could not decide the case and at the same time said that the dispute can only be resolved by the Parliament. On the same date, the apex court passed a permanent injunction on the disputed area. Even after such an order, the Andhra Pradesh Government is recently carrying out constructions of a 15 km road from Naredabalsa village to Kotia village via Dhulipadara village. They have already completed eight km from Naredabalsa village to Uparasembi village. The Andhra Pradesh Government had installed a signboard on the road side in Telugu language.
The Utkal Sammilani members removed the board at the time of their visit. The Andhra Pradesh Government is constructing an Anganwadi centre in Uparasembi village besides a primary school in Ganjeipadara village. Andhra also supplies electricity to nearly 15 villages and hamlets. In the Kotia Gram Panchayat, the Andhra Pradesh Government has nominated three persons as the sarpanch and made three Gram Panchayats namely Talanga Dei Padara, Phagunaseneri and Phatusineri as a part of Salur Mandal in Vijayanagaram district.
The Utkal Sammilani panel discussed with the local people, leaders, media persons, Government officials and also with retired officials and concluded that the Odisha Government needs to take proactive steps including emphasizing on greater connectivity and preparing a road map for construction of 79 km road (Kanduli-Kotia- Phatusineri–39km, Naredibalsa – Dhulipadara – Kotia – Kurudipadara – 20 km and (c) Taupadara – Deomali – Suliamari - 20 km and two bridges near Madakara and between Suliamari and Katragada.
To integrate the villages economically and culturally, it should start two daily bus service in the Kotia – Pattangi – Koraput route in morning and evening; provide electricity to all the revenue villages and hamlets; fill vacant posts of teachers giving priority on appointment of local educated girls for Siksha Sahayak; appointment of Tehsildar and additional tehsildar in Pattangi, regular visit by the Government representatives and local representatives and provision of funds for developmental work; posting of Odias as Collector, SP and Tehsilar in the border districts and organization of Kottia Mahotsav, among others.
(The writer is president, Utkal Sammilani, Mancheswar Industrial Estate branch, Bhubaneswar)