Odisha, Andhra Pradesh police enter into tussle over Kotia villages dispute

Police personnel from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh engaged in a scuffle on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) at the inter-State border while asserting their respective jurisdictional claims over the Kotia group of villages in Odisha’s Koraput district.The latest flashpoint was the upcoming November 5 elections to Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs), which Andhra Pradesh wants to conduct in Kotia region.Barricades in placeAround 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday (November 3), a group of A.P. officials, accompanied by security personnel, attempted to enter Kotia via Neredibalasa, a border village. They were stopped by Odisha police, which erected barricades. On Monday, Odisha had stopped a truck-load of rice packets at the border point. The A.P. officials argued that they had every right to conduct elections in Kotia as it belonged to their State.On the other hand, the Odisha government asserted that the Kotia group of villages was an inseparable part of the State and there was a Supreme Court status quo order in force since 2006.Apprehending deterioration of the law and order situation in Kotia, Koraput District Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan on Tuesday (November 3) imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, within the physical boundaries of all 21 villages of Kotia gram panchayat under Pottangi tehsil.An all-party coordination meeting held on October 29 in Koraput had also resolved to block polling teams from Andhra Pradesh if they should enter upon the territory of Odisha for the purpose of conducting polls. A prohibitory order also mentioned the resolution.“Kotia group of villages are an integral part of its territory and the State has filed a fresh contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Andhra Pradesh’s election notification as it violates a 2006 order directing both States to maintain the status quo,” alleged Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari.He said Andhra Pradesh was trying to create a constitutional crisis by going ahead to hold elections inside Odisha’s jurisdiction.Repeat of 2021“A.P. attempted to hold panchayat elections in Kotia in 2021, and again now after five years, Andhra Pradesh officials are making brief visits to the area and attempting to influence voters through rice distribution and a heavy police presence near the border,” the Minister claimed.“But the Odisha government and its district administration are available to residents throughout the year, including during natural calamities and relief operations,” Mr. Pujari said.Fabi Rasheed, Koraput Sub-Collector, said the situation was under control and the State police and administration would take action required to protect its territorial integrity. She said seven platoons of police had been deployed to prevent any untoward incident while the strength of police force would be increased depending on the situation. Nine executive magistrates have also been deployed in Kotia panchayat.Like Indo-Pak border: BJDMeanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) likened the fight between the two States to the India-Pakistan border and blamed the Union government for this situation.“Now, the police forces of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are involved in a tussle at Neredibalasa, as if it were an Indo-Pak border. With the Central government remaining silent, Odisha is left helpless,” said BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.“Is the Central government silent on Andhra Pradesh’s intrusion into Odisha’s Kotia because it fears that the Telugu Desam Party might withdraw its support? As the Odisha government approached the Supreme Court after the nomination process for the three-tier panchayat elections in Andhra Pradesh was over, Odisha is now hoping against hope,” Mr. Mohanty said on X.The border dispute between the States dates back to pre-independence era and even prior to the formation of Andhra Pradesh as a separate State.According to an Odisha government brief on the dispute, the State exercised administrative control over these villages from 1936. The dispute surfaced in 1955, two years after the formation of Andhra Province, when Andhra Pradesh officials attempted to collect land revenue from the villages. Odisha protested, but Andhra Pradesh argued that it had been collecting revenue there since 1947 and that residents had participated in the State’s 1954 elections.Andhra Pradesh’s claim relied on a 1942 boundary demarcation by M. Gilby, then Assistant Director of Survey, Madras Province. Odisha rejected the claim, arguing that Gilby had wrongly assumed his demarcation conformed to the Government of India (Constitution of Orissa) Order, 1936. Both States held general elections in the disputed area in 1967.As mediation to resolve the dispute by the then Home Minister failed in 1968, Odisha had approached the Supreme Court in 1968. On March 30, 2006, the Supreme Court disposed of the original suit, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute because of the proviso to Article 131. It directed that status quo should be maintained until the dispute was taken up by an appropriate authority in accordance with law.