Guwahati: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday unveiled the Vibrant Villages Programme–II (VVP–II) at a village in Assam’s Cachar district, announcing a ₹6,839-crore initiative to transform border villages across 15 states and two Union Territories.
The scheme will cover 1,954 villages in 334 blocks, including 140 villages in Assam spread over nine districts and 26 blocks.
Shah said the programme also includes villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
“The govt is committed to ensuring that every border village is developed on a par with other villages in the country.
There will be no migration from border areas, infiltrators will be prevented from entering through the borders, and a secure Assam will contribute to a secure India. The launch of Vibrant Villages Programme–II from the Barak Valley marks the beginning of extending development to border villages across 17 states,” Shah said addressing the gathering at Nathunpur village.
Shah said that there was a time when border villages were referred to as the “last village” of the country because they lagged behind in development, employment, electricity connectivity, and education.
“Under Vibrant Villages-I, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that every village on the border is not the last but the first village of India,” Shah said adding, “From today, this village in Assam will also become the first village of the country. This village will not only lead in terms of development but also in areas of employment, education, roads and telecommunications.”
The home minister highlighted that the programme integrates schemes related to security, saturation of welfare benefits, and connectivity, ensuring that residents of border areas do not migrate and infiltrators are kept at bay.
Shah said in the coming years, Assam will be among the developed states of the country, and the Vibrant Villages Programme–II is a crucial component of this vision.
