Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Tuesday inaugurated a two-day workshop on the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) in New Delhi, organised by the Border Management Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Addressing the gathering, the Home Minister said the Vibrant Villages Programme rests on three core objectives: preventing migration from border villages, ensuring complete coverage of government schemes for all citizens in these villages, and developing them as instruments of national and border security. He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conceived the idea of designating the “last village of the country” as the “first village,” thereby changing the national perspective towards border settlements.
Shah said that the villages identified in the initial phase of the programme will, in the coming years, emerge as important assets for the country’s security. He added that the initiative seeks to promote infrastructure, preserve and enhance local culture, generate employment through tourism, and ensure overall multi-sectoral development of border villages.
The Home Minister underlined the role of state governments, district collectors, and the Central Armed Police Forces in implementing the objectives of the programme and said coordinated efforts were needed to transform border villages into instruments of security and development. He said 100 per cent saturation of government schemes, promotion of tourism, and strengthening of cooperative institutions were essential to achieve this vision. He suggested that initiatives such as homestays, supported by proper booking arrangements through state governments, could ensure employment in every household in border villages.
Shah noted that the Vibrant Villages Programme had helped increase the population in several border villages in Arunachal Pradesh, sending out a positive message to other frontier regions. He referred to Prime Minister Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort where demographic changes in border areas were termed a matter of concern and stressed that district collectors must take responsibility for addressing the issue. He said demographic changes in border areas were not merely the result of geography but part of a deliberate design and called upon state chief secretaries and CAPFs to remain alert.
The Home Minister suggested that district collectors could coordinate with CAPFs to achieve complete saturation of schemes and mentioned that CAPFs could contribute in areas such as health, sports, and education. He cited the example of the ITBP in Arunachal Pradesh procuring essentials such as milk, vegetables, eggs, and grains from border villages, adding that such models should be replicated across all Vibrant Villages. He said the army and CAPFs should work with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defence to develop dairy cooperatives in these areas to supply milk directly to security forces, thereby generating employment and curbing migration.
Shah said that border villages must have adequate facilities for telecommunications, road connectivity, healthcare, education, and drinking water. He called for the programme to become an integral part of administrative functioning rather than being seen merely as a government initiative. He also suggested that new ponds, afforestation projects, and permanent infrastructure under schemes such as MGNREGA could be taken up to strengthen the programme.
Speaking on the next phase of the Vibrant Villages Programme, the Home Minister said there was a need to change the administrative approach and ensure that issues such as illegal religious encroachments were dealt with effectively. He said encroachments within a 30-kilometre radius of the border should be removed, as they posed a deliberate challenge to security. He cited the example of Gujarat, which had successfully cleared several encroachments along both its maritime and land borders.