The Union Budget 2022-23 has announced that villages on the northern border will be covered under the new Vibrant Villages Programme. The activities will include construction of village infrastructure, housing, tourist centres, road connectivity, provisioning of decentralized renewable energy, direct to home access for Doordarshan and educational channels and support for livelihood generation. Additional funding for these activities will be provided. Existing schemes will be converged and their outcomes will be defined and monitored on a constant basis. The programme aims to enhance infrastructure in villages along India’s border with China in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Border Management fund allotted to the Ministry of Home Affairs has seen a jump of more than 42 per cent to over 2 thousand 517 crore rupees from over one thousand 921 crore rupees last year.
Addressing a webinar on the positive impact of the Union Budget on rural development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had emphasized that Vibrant Villages programme, announced in the budget is very important for the border villages. Mr Modi while addressing a programme on Aatmanirbhar Arthvyavastha, stated that the migration from border villages is not appropriate for national security and the current budget has provisions for designing vibrant villages on the border.
The border villages of the country are characterised by difficult terrain, weak transport networks and suboptimal socioeconomic indicators. Such villages have sparse population, limited connectivity and infrastructure and are often get left out from the development gains. These regions lack development benefits that other states enjoy. Additionally, development of Border Villages had been an important area for the Government. In 2018, with the implementation of Border Area Development Programme BADP, the then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh stressed that the border population is a strategic asset to the country and an important element to maintain border security.
Government accords utmost priority to social and economic wellbeing of border population and provides them with all facilities like connectivity, safe drinking water, schools, hospitals and other facilities to ensure sustainable living in these areas. Thus, to ensure the inclusion of these border areas in the mainstream gains, the New Vibrant Villages Programme has been announced in Union Budget 2022-23.
The ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ aims to initiate the transformation of India’s border villages. This is imperative to secure the country’s sovereignty and further safeguard them from any possible friction with the neighbours. The budget also concentrated on development of villages at the border while adding that the National Cadet Corps NCC Centres will be brought in at schools situated at the borders. The government is taking a holistic method to supply electricity, water, among other things. The government wishes to supply all villages and their citizens with access to e-services, communication establishments, and digital resources. The contracts for laying optical fibre in all villages, including remote areas, will be granted under the Bharatnet Project through PPP in 2022-23. The completion of the same is expected in 2025 and actions will be taken to facilitate better and more efficient use of optical fibre.
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