New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on Monday to launch the ‘Vibrant Villages programme’ in Kibithoo, a border village in the Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh. The launching of a Vibrant Villages programme at Anjaw assumes significance following the fact that the Indian and Chinese armies had a face-off on many occasions earlier in this bordering area.
Along with Arunachal Pradesh, Shah will also visit Assam during his two-day-long visit to the northeastern States on Monday and Tuesday. The Central government has approved the 'Vibrant Villages programme' with the Central components of Rs 4,800 crore, including Rs 2,500 crore, exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26.
‘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 UT of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development. In the first phase, 662 villages have been identified for priority coverage, which includes 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh.
The 'Vibrant Villages programme' will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages and encourage people to stay in their native locations thereby reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to the security of the border. The district administration with the help of appropriate mechanisms at the block and panchayat level will prepare action plans for identified villages to ensure 100% saturation of Central and State schemes.
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The focus areas of interventions identified for the development of villages include road connectivity, drinking water, electricity, including solar and wind energy, mobile and internet connectivity, tourist centres, multi-purpose centres and healthcare infrastructure and wellness centres. Shah will inaugurate nine Micro Hydel Projects of the Arunachal Pradesh government constructed under the “Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme” in Kibithoo, on Monday. These electricity projects will empower people living in border villages.
Shah will also interact with ITBP personnel at Kibithoo. An exhibition of the products made by women members of Self-Help Groups of border districts will also be organised. Shah will visit exhibition stalls to acquaint with and appreciate the efforts of women of border villages. On Tuesday, Shah will visit Namti field and pay homage at the Walong War Memorial before he goes to Dibrugarh in Assam to inaugurate a BJP party office.
