Our objective is to transform the villages along the Northern borders, especially in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh, which are suffering from limited connectivity and infrastructure, into a ‘Model Village’, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday (September 11, 2024). We aim to connect them to the mainstream of development, he stated.

Describing border area development as a core component of national security, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said developed area with a strong economic and tourist activity acts also as a deterrence to the adversary. “It basically discredits adversary claims or who otherwise claim this is theirs or taken away. People are there on ground to confirm what is correct and what is not,” he said speaking at a conclave on border area development.

The Union government has approved the Vibrant Village Program for development of border villages as a Centrally sponsored scheme on February 15, 2023, with financial outlay of ₹4,800 crore for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26, for the development of the 2,967 villages in 46 blocks in 19 districts bordering China and Nepal in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Union Territory of Ladakh.

The objective of VVP is comprehensive development of these villages to improve the quality of life of people and thereby reversing outmigration, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is also an effort to counter China’s model villages called Xiaokang (moderately prosperous) villages opposite Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh very close to the LAC raising apprehensions in the security establishment.

Talking of development in the border areas, Mr. Singh said the government, along with Indian Army, is ensuring the participation of people residing in border areas in their development. “We are encouraging the youth to enrol in the NCC. Many government schemes are being run with the sole aim of development.”

Talking of the progress achieved in border area development in the last 10 years, Mr. Singh said, “The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed over 8,500 kms of roads and more than 400 permanent bridges. Atal Tunnel, Sela Tunnel and Shikun-La Tunnel, which is going to be the world’s highest tunnel, will prove to be milestones in border area development.”

Elaborating he said they started the 220 Kilo-Volt Srinagar-Leh Electricity Line to connect the border areas of Ladakh with the National Electricity Grid. In addition, the transmission and distribution infrastructure of north-eastern States is being strengthened, he noted. “High-speed internet has been provided to over 1,500 villages through the Bharat-Net broadband project. In the last four years alone, more than 7,000 border villages have been connected with internet connection, and our focus has been Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh,” the Minister said.

He stated that the ongoing efforts have not only ensured prompt military deployments in sensitive regions, but have also connected the people residing in border areas with the rest of the country. Mr. Singh stressed that while building roads, bridges, and tunnels in border areas is imperative for national security, it is also important in making the lives of the people in these regions better, in collaboration with the State governments.

Adding to this, Gen. Dwivedi described infrastructure development; smart borders comprising communication networks and power supply; economic development with employment generation; border area tourism and empowerment of next generation by providing skill enhancement and education opportunities as key pillars of the vision of border area development.

In addition to development of villages and roads, setting of mobile towers for 4G communications is underway under the Unified Service Obligation Fund, under which corporates can provide telecom services in rural and remote areas under the CSR obligations. Under this mobile towers are being set up in strategically sensitive areas like Kibithu, Walong, and Hayuliang. Phase-I covering Lohit and Debang regions should be completed by December this year, officials said.

Agencies