The Bharatiya Bikash Parishad (BBP), a Brahmapur-based social organisation, on Wednesday filed a PIL in the Orissa High Court seeking a direction to the State Government to take appropriate measures to safeguard the State’s border with Andhra Pradesh and stop the panchayat elections being conducted by the neighbouring State in the disputed region of Kotia in Koraput district. Petitioner Surendra Panigrahi, president of BBP, has made the Home and Revenue Secretaries along with three district Collectors parties in the case.
The move comes a day after the Odisha Government asked its Advocate on Record (AoR) Sibo Sankar Mishra to file a writ a petition in the Supreme Court against Andhra Pradesh’s announcement for panchayat polls at three villages of Kotia gram panchyat.
The Odisha Law Department, in a letter to Mishra, stated, “You are engaged to file a writ petition before the Supreme Court challenging the notification of State Election Commission, Andhra Pradesh to hold panchayat elections in three villages of Kotia which are within the territory of Odisha.” The Revenue and Disaster Management Department has been asked to provide all relevant documents for filing the petition. The Odisha Government has pointed out that Andhra Pradesh took the unilateral decision on holding panchayat polls even as the border dispute involving Kotia is sub-judice in the Supreme Court.
Notably, the Kotia dispute is a long-pending border issue between Andhra Pradhesh and Odisha. Both the States have been claiming their rights over the area, which consists of 27 small tribal hamlets on the border.
Andhra Pradesh has announced to conduct panchayat polls in three villages Talaganjeipadar, Phatuseneri and Phagunaseneri of Kotia GP on February 13 and 17 after listing these villages of Odisha’s Koraput district under its Salur Mandal in the Vizianagaram area.