Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on Monday hit Kotia in Koraput district and asserted Odisha’s right to the 21 villages of the Kotia panchayat those Andhra Pradesh too stakes its claim on.
The Minister who hails from Odisha said, “Kotia is an integral part of Odisha and will remain so for centuries to come.” as he added that any ill claim by Andhara Pradesh over it would get befitting reply from Odisha. We will give the reply through our works of development, said the Minister.
He urged combined responsibility for the development of the Kotia region and said that PM Modi himself is overseeing the developmental works of the 115 aspirational districts in the country and Koraput district is included in the scheme.
“I will apprise Modiji of the elemental problems and the developmental issues of this region.” said Mr Pradhan who along with his party colleagues interacted with the villagers and addressed a public meeting in the area.
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are engaged in little dispute on the cluster of 21 villages of the Kotia panchayat in Koraput district of Odisha since 1968. The Supreme Court in 2006 has ordered status quo in the region.
However after the Andhra Pradesh administration carried out welfare programmes in the region in January this year the issue hit the headline.As a measure to halt the move by Andha Pradesh the Government of Odisha has planned Rs 150 crore development package for the region.
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