Come August 15, and sarpanchs from the vibrant villages of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh will attend the iconic celebration of India’s Independence Day held annually at the historic site.
The headquarters of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has ensured that its personnel in each of these regions assign Liaison Officers (LOs) to accompany the “sarpanches and guests.” These LOs will accompany them on their journey from the district headquarters to Delhi and back to the district headquarters.
This move is a part of the government’s efforts to enhance infrastructure in regions adjacent to the China border. Given a sanction of ₹ 4,800 crore allocation and introduction in the 2022 Budget for the implementation, the Vibrant Villages Programme is a flagship initiative of the Home Minister Amit Shah.
As per the Press Innformation Bureau, the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) was approved on 15th February, 2023, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, envisages comprehensive development of identified villages in 46 blocks abutting northern border in 19 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and UT of Ladakh.
Development of villages in 19 districts that border the northern frontier of India:
The objective of the programme is to finance the funding gap in the coverage of existing schemes and 100% saturation of Central Sector, Centrally Sponsored and State Government Schemes exclusively for the focus areas of interventions in the identified villages so that there are sufficient incentives for the people to stay on in the border areas villages.
The Home Minister held at a workshop held in Delhi in April had informed that an allocation of ₹ 2500 crore is specifically for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26.
He also reiterated that over the past 9 years, ₹25,000 crore have been spent on bolstering border infrastructure. Shah also stressed upon the importance of giving precedence to the vibrant villages in the strategic planning of schemes at both the central and state levels.
This will ensure that the villages on the border area do not suffer connectivity issues, and may help reverse the flight of people from remote areas to urban areas. The idea is to also motivate residents to remain in their hometowns, thereby helping the border security forces in guarding against illegal intrusions.
Meanwhile, Red Fort has been shut to the public and the Special Protection Group (SPG) has taken over the control of the premises to secure and sanitise it ahead of Independence Day. The monument is shut to the public and visitors since July 26.
Kite flying around the monument has also been banned and hotels have been put under strict vigilance regarding the identity verification of guests. NSG, SPG, CAPFs and Delhi Police have laid out a multi-layered security arrangement and a traffic advisory for the day is awaited. Arrangements to ensure that no untoward incident takes place are being made. A 200m area will be guarded by the paramilitary forces and Delhi Police will manage the rest.
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