New Delhi, Apr 4 (UNI) The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the Vibrant Villages Programme -II (VVP-II) as a central sector scheme ensuring 100 percent funding by the central government with a total outlay of Rs 6,839 crore.
The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official statement said.
The programme would help in the comprehensive development of the villages located in the blocks abutting International Land Borders (ILBs), other than the Northern border already covered under VVP-I.
The initiative aims to establish secure, safe, and thriving border regions.
The programme shall be implemented in select strategic villages in the states and Union Territories of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, J&K, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal till the FY 2028-29.
The objective of the programme is to create better living conditions and adequate livelihood opportunities to ensure prosperous and safe borders, control trans-border crime and assimilate the border population with the nation and inculcate them as ‘eyes and ears of the border guarding forces’, crucial for internal security.
The programme shall provide funds for infrastructure development within the village or a cluster of villages, value chain development (through cooperatives, SHGs, etc), border specific outreach activity, education infrastructure like SMART classes, development of tourism circuits and works and projects to create diverse and sustainable livelihood opportunities in the border areas.
The interventions would be border-specific, state and village specific, based on Village Action Plans prepared in a collaborative approach.
All-weather road connectivity for these villages shall be undertaken under the already approved PMGSY-IV under the Ministry of Rural Development. A high-powered committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary shall consider suitable relaxations in schematic guidelines for effective implementation of schemes in the border areas.
The programme aims to achieve saturation in existing individual and household level welfare schemes in the identified villages under convergence as per scheme norms. The programme also aims to saturate all villages in such blocks in 4 thematic areas, namely all-weather road connectivity, telecom connectivity, television connectivity and electrification through convergence under existing scheme norms.
Technology would be leveraged and information databases like PM Gati Shakti shall be used for effective implementation of the project.
VVP-II along with VVP-I is a transformative initiative to make the border villages self-reliant and vibrant.
UNI RBE SJC