BHUBANESWAR: Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Bijayshree Routray on Monday informed the Assembly that the State has border disputes with neighbouring States over 90 villages.
In a written reply to a question from Amar Prasad Satpathy (BJD), the Minister said the Supreme Court has directed that status quo should be maintained relating to 21 Kutia group of villages and Boromutha village over which the State has dispute with Andhra Pradesh.
The Minister said required administrative and legal steps are being taken to resolve the disputes. Besides, official level talks are being held to draw boundary with the neighbouring States.
Official sources said the highest number of border dispute cases are with the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh involving 48 villages spread over three districts of Koraput, Rayagada and Ganjam. The dispute with West Bengal is over five villages in Balasore and eight villages of Mayurbhanj district. Odisha and Chhattisgarh have disputes over four villages in Nabarangpur district. Besides, there is dispute with Jharkhand over 24 villages in the bordering districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh.
The State Government had recently sought a report from the Balasore Collector over reported construction of roads by the West Bengal Government in Gopinathpur and Madhupur mouzas of Jaleswar block. Sources said the demarcation work in the border villages is in final stages of completion.
The Government has asked the Secretaries concerned to finalise demarcation of boundaries of these border villages at the inter-State Secretary-level meeting.