SAMBALPUR/BHUBANESWAR : Days after the Andhra Pradesh government issued a notification to hold panchayat elections in three villages of Kotia gram panchayat, the Odisha government on Wednesday said it would revive its contempt petition in the Supreme Court over the boundary dispute with the neighbouring state.
After chairing a high-level virtual meeting in Sambalpur, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said the state government has prepared a roadmap to strengthen its legal claim over the Kotia group of villages in Pottangi block of Koraput district. The Advocate General (AG) has been asked to ascertain the latest status of the contempt proceedings.
“The government will also deploy personnel from the Revenue and Police departments to monitor the situation on the ground, assess the progress of development works and submit daily reports through the Koraput collector and SP,” he said.
Taking a dig at Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik over the Kotia issue, Pujari said the previous BJD government failed to protect the state’s interests. “Be it fighting for its own water or claiming land against AP, the Naveen Patnaik government lost due to lack of adequate preparation and strategy. Rather than writing letters, if the previous government had worked, people of Kotia would have trusted us,” he said.
Pujari said the BJP government prioritised development in Kotia since assuming office, with ministers frequently visiting the area to address local concerns and build public confidence. He claimed that the situation in Kotia was better than it had been in 2022. He cited efforts to resolve several local problems and ensure that government schemes and benefits reached residents through coordination among departments.
Earlier, after Andhra Pradesh moved to hold the polls, Naveen wrote to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, alleging that the BJP government had adopted a soft approach to the Kotia issue because of the NDA’s dependence on the TDP at the Centre.
“What makes this incident even more troubling is that the TDP, which governs Andhra Pradesh, is a crucial ally of the BJP-led NDA government, which is much needed to maintain a majority at the Centre. Is political dependence the reason for the Odisha BJP government’s silence and its willingness to compromise Odisha’s interests and territorial integrity?” the former chief minister said in the letter.
Referring to his tenure as chief minister, the Leader of Opposition said the BJD government had fought to protect Odisha’s territorial integrity.
Naveen said the BJP had promised in its 2024 election manifesto that a double-engine government would resolve the Kotia issue, safeguard Odisha’s territorial integrity and restore Odia Swabhiman.
“What happened to these promises?” he asked. Naveen said it was deeply concerning that Andhra Pradesh had proceeded to announce panchayat elections in Kotia despite Odisha having a double-engine government.
“Was the slogan ‘Andhra Go Back’ just an electoral gimmick to grab votes, and will it remain unfulfilled like other promises?” he asked.
The former chief minister also sought to know the recommendations of the 16-member committee on Kotia formed in 2025 and what action had been taken to implement them.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said everyone needed to come together, irrespective of party affiliations, to find a solution to the Kotia dispute. “The issue necessitates that political leaders take responsibility to resolve the matter,” he said in a social media post.
Pradhan, who visited Kotia in 2018, 2019 and 2023, said a cordial atmosphere needed to be created through dialogue to find a solution. The former Union Minister had written to Naveen and the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, seeking an early resolution to the issue of Andhra Pradesh’s interference in the area.
