Guwahati, April 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh starting from April 10 (Monday), days after China renamed 11 villages in Arunachal Pradesh.
Shah will visit Kibithoo, a strategically key village near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, and launch the centrally sponsored ‘Vibrant Villages Programme” (VVP) aimed at the comprehensive development of villages at the India-China border on April 10-11.
The VVP is India’s response to the 628 model ‘xiaokang’ (moderately well-off) villages built by China along the LAC in China-occupied Tibet (CoT).
According to reports, China started building these villages, which have a dual civilian-military use, in 2017 and completed them in 2021 at a whopping cost of Rs 3.76 lakh crore.
Under the VVP, the selected villages will be connected with all-weather roads and provided potable piped water, 24×7 electricity (including solar and wind energy), good mobile and internet connectivity, healthcare and enhanced livelihood options.
The overall objective is to not only stem migration from these remote habitats to urban areas by the villagers in search of a better livelihood, but also to catalyse reverse migration.
India has identified 2,967 villages in 19 border districts of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh that will be developed under the VVP.
