Prime Minister Narendra Modi today during his address from the Red Fort on the occasion of 77th Independence Day said that the villages that were known as the ‘last village of India’ are in fact the ‘first villages of India’ under the BJP government. PM Modi dedicated a significant part of his address to the Vibrant Villages Programme highlighting the role of rural India in the nation’s development.
The Prime Minister said, “We started the Vibrant Border Village program. And Vibrant Border Villages were known as the country’s last village but we changed that mindset. The village you see on the border is my country’s first village. When the sun rises, the first ray falls on the first village on this side (east), and when the sun sets, the last ray falls on the first village on that side (west). These are my first villages.”
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi says, "…The Vibrant Border Villages were called the last villages of the country. We changed that mindset. They are not the last villages in the country. What you can see at the borders is the first village in my country…I am delighted that special… pic.twitter.com/Np9PC2ODDp
— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2023
Prime Minister Modi welcomed the 600 pradhans (heads) of Vibrant Villages who were invited as guests for the I-day celebrations.
The Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) was announced in the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech in 2022. The program envisages coverage of border villages on India’s frontiers having sparse populations, limited connectivity, and infrastructure, which often get left out of the development gains. It covers the border areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Ladakh.
On 10th April this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched VVP at Kibithoo – a border village in Arunachal Pradesh. He announced that the program will be implemented in three phases in a bid to promote tourism and provide urban facilities in the villages and stop migration from the areas.
Shah also inaugurated 9 micro hydel projects of the Arunachal Government and 14 infrastructure projects for Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) worth Rs.120 crore. The first phase of the program aims to cover a population of about 1.42 Lakh in 662 villages in 46 blocks. Under this scheme, Rs. 4800 crore will be spent from 2022 to 2026 and 11 districts, 28 blocks, and 1451 villages have been included in the first phase.
#WestKameng DC Akriti Sagar flags off a bus as part of the #VibrantVillagesProgramme on Saturday. The bus will transport the sarpanch of the vibrant villages of the district, who are special invitees to the #IndependenceDay celebration at the #RedFort in #Delhi. (DIPRO) pic.twitter.com/4lmqzxYomk
— The Arunachal Times (@arunachaltimes_) August 12, 2023
Under VVP, the Centre intends to provide improved facilities to every person living in the villages and provide the benefits of various schemes to the people. Promoting financial inclusion and economic opportunities is also the aim to bolster the rural economy at the border areas. Shah said that these villages will be developed while preserving and promoting tourism, local culture, and language.
Another goal of VVP is to stop migration from border villages for which employment-generating opportunities are being generated. The HM had said that a five-year target has been set to bring back the normal situation in the villages affected by migration.
Rs Rs.4800 crore for the FY 2022-23 to 2025-26 including Rs.2500 crore specifically for road connectivity have been allotted by the Centre for the Vibrant Village Programme. 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts along the northern border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development under the programme.
The government aims to ensure the participation and responsibility of the Panchayat and Gram Sabha in the administration at the Central, State, District, and Block-levels. The Vibrand Villages Programme along the Chinese border is also aimed at boosting border security infrastructure.
