NATHANPUR: Union Home Minister and Cooperation minister Amit Shah on Monday launched the Vibrant Villages Programme-II (VVP-II) with an outlay of Rs 6,839 crore from Nathanpur village in Assam’s Barak Valley, giving a huge boost to the development of border villages.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Union Home Secretary, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initiated the process to ensure that villages in the Barak Valley and border districts of Assam get facilities on a par with other villages in the country.
He remembered that the border villages were earlier known as the “last villages” because of their lack of development, jobs, electricity, and education. But after the development of these villages through the Vibrant Villages Programme-I, they were rechristened as the “first villages” of India. “From today, this village in Assam will also become the first village of the country,” he said.
Under VVP-II, almost Rs 6,900 crore will be invested in the development of 1,954 villages in 334 blocks of 17 states. In Assam, the project will benefit 140 villages in 26 blocks of nine districts. The project will also cover the border villages of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Shah said that the project will “saturate welfare programmes, improve connectivity, and boost security in border areas.”
Pointing out the progress made in Assam, Shah said that multidimensional poverty in the state has reduced from 37 per cent to 14 per cent in the last few years, and the per capita income of the state has almost tripled since 2013-14. He also said that large investments in roads, railways, airports, and a Rs 27,000-crore semiconductor factory are giving a new shape to the state.
Shah said that VVP-II will help in stopping migration from the border areas, improve security, and make sure that Assam is a part of a secure India.