Odisha To Constitute Inter-Ministerial Committee To Resolve Inter-State Disputes

Bhubaneswar, Nov 13: The Odisha government will soon form an Inter-Ministerial committee to resolve all inter-state disputes with the neighbouring states.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi took the decision during a high-level meeting held at Lok Seva Bhawan here on Wednesday.

As per a press note released by the Chief Minister’s Office, the high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister held a threadbare discussion on various inter-state disputes including Polavaram, Mahanadi, Kotia etc.

Law Minister, Prithviraj Harichandan, Advocate General Pitambar Acharya, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Nikunj Bihari Dhal, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, and other senior officials were present during the meeting.

It is pertinent here to mention that Odisha is in disputes with neighbouring states, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh over sharing of River water, the construction of dams and barrages and boundary-related issues.

Odisha is locked in territorial disputes with Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

The territorial dispute with Andhra Pradesh over Kotia gram panchayat has been lingering since 1960. The boundary dispute with Andhra Pradesh is related to 21 villages in Kotia gram panchayat. Odisha has disputes with West Bengal

As per reports, the state has boundary disputes with West Bengal over 27 plots in the Balasore district and some areas in the Mayurbhanj district. Sources claimed that Odisha and Chhattisgarh are locked in territorial conflict over some villages in Nabarangpur and Jharsuguda districts.

Similarly, the Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal was established to find a solution to the water-sharing dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh over the Vansadhara River. The state recently raised objections over the construction of the Polavaram dam across the Godavari River by Andhra Pradesh.

The Central Government constituted the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018 to adjudicate the Mahanadi River water-sharing dispute between Odisha and neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

--IANS