Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is leaving for Bhubaneswar to meet his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday. Both the Chief Ministers will discuss a host of issues including construction of Neradi barrage over the Vamsadhara River, the disputed Kotia cluster of villages and the Janjavathi project.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy held a meeting with the officials at his camp office here on Monday on the agenda to be discussed with Mr. Naveen Patnaik.
The officials informed the Chief Minister that 103 acres of land was need from Odisha for the construction of the Neradi barrage, of which 67 acres were riverbed area. The barrage would provide immediate irrigation facilities to around 6,000 acres in Odisha.
In regard to the Janjavathi project, the officials informed the Chief Minister that the water for cultivation was being provided only to 5,000 acres of 24,640 acres through a rubber dam and completion of the project would benefit farmers.
They said completion of the project would leave four villages completely and six villages partially flooded. Nearly 1174 acres including 875 acres of government land in Odisha will be inundated due to the project. The Chief Minister will seek co-operation of Odisha for implementation of the R&R scheme.
The officials explained to the Chief Minister the recent developments in the disputed Kotia cluster of villages. Vizianagaram Collector A. Suryakumari said 16 out of 21 villages in the Kotia cluster had decided to be under the purview of Andhra Pradesh, adding that elections were also held in those villages.
Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, DGP Gautam Sawang, Home Secretary Kumara Vishwajit, Water Resources Secretary J. Shyamala Rao, Water Resources Department ENC Narayana Reddy and other officials were present in the meeting.
