KORAPUT: Andhra Pradesh (AP) has done it again. In a fresh attempt to intrude into Odisha borders in Kotia, officials from the neighbouring State scouted places in Kotia on Wednesday reportedly to set up a power plant.
Sources said, officials from New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd. (NREDAP) and four executives of National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC ), New Delhi visited Neradivalsa, Dhulipadar and Tadivalsa villages on the day. They visited different sites and conducted surveys for the proposed pumped storage power project in Saluru and Kotia including 21 disputed villages.
As news spread, locals expressed their displeasure on lack of initiative of the State government over the matter despite formation of a high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra to look into the development and welfare of Kotia and its people. A couple of weeks back, a team of IAS officers from the neighbouring State visited Deomali in the name of having a get-together.
Similar intrusions by AP officials in the past are being seen as the state’s strategy to woo people through social schemes. At Dhulipadar on the day, the officials promised free electricity supply to every household through the proposed power project.
Contacted, State Seeds Corporation Chairman and district BJD president Ishwar Chandra Panigrahi said the higher authorities have been apprised of the matter for necessary advise and action against AP’s move.