BW Explains: What Is Vibrant Village Programme?
On 7 April, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah launched the Vibrant Village programme in a remote village of Arunachal Pradesh named Kibithu which is located at an altitude of 9,000 feet above sea level. The area which is referred to as a gateway of the land of the rising sun is a region of political significance as it resides near the controversial and conflict-prone Indo-China border.
What is the VVP?
Vibrant Village Programme is a scheme launched by the central government in the union budget of FY2022 for the economic and infrastructural development of the villages of the northern border. The scheme covers the border villages of Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The VVP envisioned upgrading the standard of living of the inhabitants living in these villages. This scheme aims to cover a total of 2,963 villages, and 663 have already been covered.
What is special for Kibithu?
The VVP was launched by Amit Shah in order to pace up the infrastructural development in Kibithu village. The government is inclined to commence the programme in the region as being the border village, the constant threat to the village is pushing them backwards in every aspect.
The Union Cabinet passed the allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for the scheme. On his visit to Kibithu, Shah tweeted, “Traveled from Kibithoo to Walong, known as India's easternmost road. The smooth surface road along a remote frontier manifests PM @narendramodi Ji's vision to develop border areas.”
He added that this program will further boost connectivity and development in border villages.
The inspiration and impact of the scheme?
The central government is the promoter of self-reliant India since it has come into rule and the Vibrant Village Programme is an attempt to attain that objective. Apart from infrastructural development, the scheme also aimed to strengthen the security grid on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
VVP also look after the expansion of local resources so that local people can get benefitted. The scheme also develops social entrepreneurship among the dwellers and strive to empower women, children and other marginalised section. Border villages are completely neglected in terms of tourism even if they do have attractive features, VVP steps forward to expand the tourism potential for the region.
