The issue of Odisha’s border dispute with its neighbours is back in focus with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urging Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to seek the Centre’s intervention on the matter. Pradhan has also advised Patnaik to convene an all-party meeting on the issue and seek inputs from the state intelligentsia and civil society members.
Pradhan’s letter to the Chief Minister comes in the backdrop of fresh tension along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border in the Pottangi block of Koraput district. Odisha has objected to and resisted Andhra Pradesh government’s bid to encroach land on its side of the border.
While Pradhan’s advice is well taken, the Naveen Patnaik government remains committed as ever to protecting the territorial integrity of the state. Maintaining a strict vigil on its border areas, it has never allowed any neighbouring state to encroach upon even an inch of its land. In some instances, disputes have gone to the court, but the five-time Chief Minister has never ever made any compromises on such matters.
Patnaik’s unequivocal stand on these issues is obvious from the way his government has dealt with the Polavaram dispute with Andhra Pradesh and the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh. Had the Chief Minister not stuck to his guns on the Mahanadi water sharing issue, Odisha would have suffered badly by now and the matter would never have gone to a tribunal.
Patnaik campaigned relentlessly to safeguard Odisha’s interests on Mahanadi. He even sent a delegation of ruling Biju Janata Dal leaders to Chhattisgarh to take a look at the kind of structures the neighbouring state had erected on the river, obstructing the flow of water to Odisha.
He also led his party’s ‘padyatra’ along the banks of the river in Odisha to highlight the problems that the state was facing because of the unilateral action of the Chhattisgarh government which had constructed barrages and reservoirs on the Mahanadi from its side. As pressure mounted and criticism against Chhattisgarh grew, the Centre announced the formation of a tribunal to settle the issue.
Similarly, the Naveen Patnaik administration has been fiercely critical of the Andhra Pradesh government for unilaterally executing the Polavaram dam project without addressing the genuine concerns of neighbouring Odisha people likely to be affected by it. His government has made it known that several tribal villages in Malkangiri district will be inundated by the project if it is carried out in its present form. Odisha has expressed its objections before the Centre and expects a quick redressal.
Therefore, no matter what his critics say, Patnaik has always done his best to protect the interests of Odisha – whether they be land- and water-related disputes with neighbouring states, or any other issue. The people of Odisha can rest assured that he will continue doing so.
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