Context: Recently, a border dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh once again resurfaced when Andhra Pradesh announced panchayat polls in three villages of Kotia panchayat in Koraput district of Odisha.
Background
Border Disputes of Odisha

• Odisha was carved out of the Bengal-Bihar-Odisha province on 1st April, 1936, but the inter-state border disputes continue even today.
• Odisha continues to have unresolved border disputes with four neighbouring States in its 8 out of 30 districts.
• 14 of the 30 districts share borders with Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. However, the disputes over Kotia villages in Koraput district bordering Andhra Pradesh is the only major border conflict.

About the Kotia Dispute

• Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are locked in a territorial dispute over Kotia gram panchayat since 1960. Disputes pertain over 21 villages in Kotia gram panchayat.
• Residents of Kotia panchayat receive benefits from both Pottangi block in Koraput and Salur in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. They depend on both the blocks for their day to day activities.
• In the early 1980s, Odisha filed a case in the Supreme Court demanding right and possession of jurisdiction over the 21 villages.
• In 2006, the SC ruled that since disputes belonging to the state boundaries are not within the jurisdiction of the judiciary, the matter can only be resolved by Parliament and passed a permanent injunction on the disputed area.

Water Dispute with Andhra Pradesh

• In 2006, Odisha sent a complaint to the Central Government under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 regarding its water disputes with Andhra Pradesh pertaining to Inter-State River Vamsadhara.