Bhubaneswar, April 1: Odisha continues to have unresolved border disputes with Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh after 88 years of its formation.
The dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh over Kotia group of villages in P0ttangi block of Koraput district has been unresolved since 1968. Kotia is a group of 21 tribal villages adjoining to Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border and both states claim territorial rights over it.
The Odisha government has failed to reach its developmental programmes in the region while neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is trying to overpower the area by notifying for rural polls in the Kotia group of villages.
The Odisha government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against illegal authority of Andhra Pradesh in the border village in 1968. In its final hearing on March 30, 2006, the apex court said that it is out of its purview according to Article - 131 of the constitution. Only Parliament can take a decision on it.
The Supreme Court also ordered for maintenance of status quo in the disputed area by both states while disposing of the suit.
However, the Andhra Pradesh government notified to conduct election in Kotia villages in 2021 that further sparked tension between the two states following which Odisha government further appealed the apex court and the court directed both the states to amicably resolve the issue.
