Bhubaneswar, May 6 (PTI) The Odisha government has initiated steps to establish a degree college in the disputed Kotia area in Koraput district, state Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said here on Wednesday.
Several villages of the Kotia area are claimed by both Odisha and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, and a case over the dispute has been pending with the Supreme Court since 1968.
Pujari, along with Law minister Prithviraj Harichandan visited the disputed area on Tuesday and participated in several programmes, including rituals for the installation of the chariot wheel of Goddess Subhadra, transported from Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
Speaking to reporters here, Pujari said, “The border dispute in the Kotia area is very old. As the people were deprived of the path of development for the past 70 years, Andhra Pradesh reached out to them with developmental projects and lured the locals.” “However, after the BJP formed the government in Odisha, we have been making efforts to reach out to the people. Several ministers and Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida visited the area and launched several public welfare initiatives,” he said. An inter-ministerial committee was formed to ensure that benefits of all schemes reach the people in the disputed Kotia area, he said.
Preliminary preparations have been made to set up a degree college in the area. Efforts are on to bring the poor and meritorious students from the area to Bhubaneswar for higher study, he added. Pujari said the state government has sanctioned funds for the development of tourism and the creation of employment in the area.
Besides, steps are being taken to strengthen healthcare service in the Kotia area, he stated.
During the visit to the area, the two ministers inaugurated multiple road projects in Koraput district and distributed land titles under the Forest Rights Act, along with ration cards, pension approvals and benefits under the Subhadra scheme. PTI BBM BBM RG
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