April 17th 2025.
Residents of Pottangi, a block in the Koraput district of Odisha, are currently facing a state of confusion caused by conflicting administrative activities from both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The situation escalated when officials from Andhra Pradesh visited Kotia panchayat on March 31 to conduct Aadhaar KYC updates for the villagers, taking advantage of the network connectivity in the area.
This move has caused tension between the local government of Odisha, the Koraput district authorities, and the Pottangi block administration. To make matters more complicated, the Pottangi block administration also started their own Aadhaar KYC process in several villages under Kotia panchayat on April 17, eighteen days after the initial visit from Andhra Pradesh. This has left the villagers confused and unsure about the necessity of undergoing Aadhaar verification twice.
According to a source, the Pottangi block officials conducted Aadhaar updates for women in front of the primary school in Fatusineri. Similar updates were also seen for women in Phagunsineri and Uparsembi at their respective Anganwadi centers, with their Aadhaar cards in hand. While the drive by Andhra Pradesh involved the participation of men, women, and children, the current initiative by Odisha only focuses on women. This has further added to the confusion among the residents.
The ongoing program by Odisha is scheduled to run from Thursday to Saturday. However, the villagers living near the border have raised questions about whether this KYC drive is connected to the Subhadra Scheme or other government initiatives. On the first day of the program, 324 KYC updates were completed.
When questioned about the situation, Pottangi Block Development Officer Ramakrishna Nayak clarified that the current Aadhaar KYC drive is specifically for 618 women who had previously received benefits under the Subhadra Scheme. He also mentioned that they would be conducting more programs based on instructions from higher authorities. Currently, only the KYC of women is being processed.
It is worth mentioning that the Kotia region, which comprises of 21 villages, is claimed by both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, leading to administrative overlaps and jurisdictional disputes. This has caused confusion and inconvenience for the residents, who are caught in the middle of these conflicting administrative activities.
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