Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik to seek the Centre’s support to resolve the state’s boundary disputes with its neighbours and form a committee of the Odisha Legislative Assembly to make a detailed study of these issues.

The winter session of the Odisha Assembly is scheduled to begin from Friday.

Fourteen out of the state’s 30 districts share borders with Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Odisha has a long history of border and water-sharing disputes with all these neighbouring states owing to historical, cartographic and geological reasons.

Pradhan’s letter has come at a time Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are locked in a serious boundary dispute. The minister pointed out how tension had flared up again along the Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border in the Patnagi block of Koraput district following unilateral demarcation of certain portions of Sunabeda Mauza and digging of a pond by Andhra Pradesh, which was unacceptable to Odisha.

“The matter has now escalated to blockage of Pottangi-Arku road by villagers on the Andhra Pradesh side. This comes a few months after a dispute along the Odisha-Bengal border in the Jaleswar block of Balasore district due to unilateral sand mining by Bengal on the Subernarekha river bed,” Pradhan said.

Underscoring the need for a solution, Pradhan urged the chief minister to convene an all-party meeting and involve the intelligentsia and civil society members in finding a way out.

“It is essential that we collectively arrive at a comprehensive and long-term solution for these conflicts. Therefore, I also request your initiation in forming a House committee in the Odisha Legislative Assembly comprising members from different parties for undertaking a detailed study of these issues and presenting their learned findings along with their recommendations,” Pradhan said.

Stating that it’s prudent to arrive at an effective and comprehensive resolution of Odisha’s ongoing and longstanding border disputes, Pradhan said, “In the spirit of cooperative federalism and brotherhood between states, I believe Odisha should take the lead in initiating these discussions. However, it must be ensured that socio-economic interest of the people of Odisha is not compromised in any way and, if necessary, the state should also consider legal remedies for resolution of these disputes.”