Odisha sets up panel for Kotia development

The Odisha government has formed a 16-member committee to give special attention to Kotia gram panchayat in Koraput district and to frame an administrative mechanism for addressing the issues faced by the people there, an official notification said.

The 16-member special committee headed by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari was formed after approval of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday.

The Kotia cluster of villages located on the state's border with Andhra Pradesh are important for the government as the neighbouring state also makes claim over the area and the dispute continued since 1968. Though the Supreme Court in 2006 directed both the states to maintain the status quo, tensions over governance and development interventions persist in the region.

"It was decided to give special attention to Kotia group of villages under Pottangi Block of Koraput district and to frame an administrative mechanism in order to address the issues faced by the people through a robust mechanism so that the various departments presently providing different services through their agencies independently to the people could come under one umbrella," the official notification said.

It said that all the schemes implemented by different departments could be done through a single agency headed by a special officer with an independent office for holistic development of Kotia gram panchayat for a lasting solution.

"Besides, there is also a need to propagate/strengthen Odia language, culture, literature, tradition, festivals in the bordering areas in order to create affiliation under 'Odia Ashmita'," it said.

The panel has been mandated to recommend to the chief minister on the issues of Kotia group of villages. It will also define the special agency structure, hierarchical and funding patterns and convergence of various schemes.

The proposed special agency to be headed by a senior officer will operate with an independent office. The aim is to bring all departmental services—currently functioning independently—under one umbrella for effective and coordinated service delivery to the residents of Kotia, an official said.