Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a workshop on the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ (VVP) in New Delhi.

What is Vibrant Villages Programme?

• The government has approved the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ with a  central component of Rs 4,800 crore, including Rs 2,500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26.

• The Vibrant Villages Programme is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development.

• In the first phase, 662 villages, including 455 in Arunachal Pradesh, have been identified for priority coverage.

• The Vibrant Villages Programme will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages and encourage people to stay at their native locations, thereby reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to the security of the border.

Significance of the scheme

• The comprehensive development of villages along the northern border will improve the quality of life of people living there and help in encouraging them to stay in their native locations in these areas, thereby reversing the out-migration and adding to improved security of the border.

• The Vibrant Villages Programme has been formulated as a centrally sponsored scheme and will have both components of central sector schemes with 100 percent direct funding as well as central sponsored schemes in ten sectors like economic growth, livelihood generation, road connectivity, energy, development of cooperative sectors for 24x7 electricity and water, besides promotion of tourism of culture.

• Tourist centres, multi-purpose centres and health and wellness centres will also be set up.

• The existing schemes of various ministries and departments of the government will be covered under the Vibrant Villages Programme and their outcomes will be defined and monitored on a constant basis. However, there will not be an overlap with the Border Area Development Programme.

• The villages will be developed as growth centres on the basis of the ‘hub-and-spoke model’ through the promotion of entrepreneurship and empowerment of youth and women through skill development programmes.

• The scheme aims to identify and develop the economic drivers based on local natural human and other resources of villages on the northern border and will look at the traditional knowledge, heritage and development of sustainable eco agri-businesses on the concept of one village, one product.

• This will be done through the involvement of community cooperative self-help groups and non-government organisations and agriculture societies.

• The district administration, with the help of appropriate mechanisms at block and panchayat levels, will prepare action plans for the identified villages to ensure 100 per cent saturation of central and state schemes.

Plan for new initiatives

• Amit Shah said that developing “vibrant villages” with all amenities, including education and healthcare facilities will add an extra layer to the border security of the country.

He said the concept of the VVP came into being with focus on two main security aspects:

i) To stop migration from border villages in far-flung areas which have tough climatic conditions.

ii) Developing these villages and adding an extra layer of security.

• Shah said district collectors in border districts under VVP should take at least five initiatives every year in every border village to give impetus to the programme.

These include:

i) Initiatives related to tourism.

ii) Initiatives related to generation of employment opportunities.

iii)Initiatives related to agriculture, handicrafts and cooperatives.

iv) Initiatives related to increasing basic facilities.

v) Initiatives related to achieve 100 per cent saturation of central and state schemes.

• The home minister said there is ample scope for employment generation through cooperatives in villages under VVP. He said that at least 30 per cent of the daily expenditure of the ITBP should be linked with rural employment opportunities.

• He said regular reviews at all levels regarding this should be held and special efforts made to establish connectivity with 168 unconnected border villages in four states and Union Territories.

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