Villages along China border to get 4G, tourist circuits, all-weather roads, says Home Ministry

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Last Updated16/07/2024

At a high-level meeting here on Saturday, the Union Home Minister reviewed the implementation of the “Vibrant Villages Programme”, which aims to develop infrastructure and open up villages to tourists along the China border.

The Union government was committed to the all-round development of the border villages, and stressed the need to provide employment opportunities to the local people and increase connectivity with villages to prevent migration.
Under the programme, 136 border villages are being provided connectivity through 113 all-weather road projects at a cost of ₹2,420 crore, a Home Ministry statement said.
By December, all villages under the programme will be covered by the 4G network, for which work was on at a rapid pace. Appropriate steps are being taken to ensure financial inclusion in all these villages and the India Post Payments Bank branches are being facilitated there.
Work is being done to develop tourist circuits to bring vibrancy to these villages and promote tourism. In this endeavor, capacity building and tourism-related infrastructure was being developed in coordination with the Tourism Ministry. The programme is in the process of being integrated with the Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti Portal for better monitoring.

The statement said the important and ambitious scheme was launched on February 14 last year, with an allocation of ₹4,800 crore. So far, more than 6,000 events have been organised in these border villages, which include 4,000 service delivery and awareness camps. More than 600 projects have been sanctioned by the government for employment generation.
He said the Central Armed Police Forces and the Army should encourage purchase of local agricultural and handicraft products through cooperatives. He said the healthcare facilities of these forces should be regularly made available to benefit the residents of nearby villages.