Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s scheduled meeting with his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on November 9 raises hopes of finding a permanent solution to two vexed issues bothering the neighbouring States – Vamsadhara Phase-II project in Srikakulam district and the dispute over the jurisdiction of Kotia villages in Vizianagaram district.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy will be attending a marriage at Pathapatnam in Srikakulam district on November 9, and will later go to Bhubaneswar to meet Mr. Naveen Patnaik in a first-of-its-kind effort to find an amicable solution to the disputes.
Neradi barrage
Though the Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal has passed orders in favour of Andhra Pradesh on the Phase-II project, acquisition of land within the jurisdiction of Odisha for the construction of Neradi barrage is yet to be made.
About 106 acres of land has to be acquired for the construction of the barrage, the foundation stone for which had been laid in 1962.
With no solution in sight, the then Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government had constructed a side weir to help store around 8 tmcft water out of 70 tmcft going waste every year during floods.
The Gotta barrage constructed under Vamsadhara Phase-1 in 1977 is helping in utilising 30 tmcft water for providing irrigation facility to nearly 2 lakh acres.
Construction of the Neradi barrage under Phase-II is crucial to provide irrigation water to nearly 2.5 lakh acres additionally.
Dharmana Prasada Rao, Srikakulam MLA and former Minister in the YSR Cabinet, who could convince the former Chief Minister on the need for taking up the Vamsadhara Phase-II project, is hopeful that the meeting of the Chief Ministers will end the deadlock over the issue.
“Apart from Srikakulam district, the project will help Odisha farmers too. About 30,000 acres of land in Odisha can be provided irrigation facility on completion of the Neradi barrage,” Vamsadhara Project Superintending Engineer D. Tirumala Rao told The Hindu.
Claim on Kotia villages
Meanwhile, the Vizianagaram district administration is preparing a detailed note over the dispute involving the Kotia villages. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are claiming jurisdiction over 16 villages along the border.
While local public representatives are keen on being under the administrative jurisdiction of Andhra Pradesh, official in Odisha claim that they have the legitimate right over the villages.
