Union Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Arunachal Pradesh on Apr 10 & 11

Itanagar, April 8: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will pay a two-day visit to the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh on April 10 and 11 to inaugurate a slew of projects at the border village of Kibithoo, including the Border Villages Programme and nine micro hydel projects under the “Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme”, official sources said.

On the first day of his visit, Shah will launch the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ at Kibithoo, a border village in Anjaw district bordering China, a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

It said, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India has approved the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ (VVP) with central components of Rs 4800 crore including Rs 2500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26.

VVP is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development.

In the first phase, 662 villages have been identified for priority on coverage, which includes 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh, the statement said.

The Vibrant Villages Programme will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages and encourage people to stay in their native locations, thereby reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to security of the border.

The District Administration with the help of appropriate mechanisms at block and Panchayat level will prepare action Plans for identified village to ensure 100% saturation of central and state schemes.

The focus areas of interventions identified for development of villages include road connectivity, drinking water, electricity including solar and wind energy, mobile and internet connectivity, tourist centers, multi-purpose centers and healthcare infrastructure and wellness centers.

The Union Home Minister will inaugurate nine micro hydel projects of Arunachal Pradesh government-constructed under the “Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme” at Kibithoo on Monday. These electricity projects will empower people living in border villages.

Furthermore, Shah will also inaugurate Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) projects to augment infrastructure at Likabali in Arunachal Pradesh), Chapra (Bihar), Nooranad (Kerala) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

Also the Home Minister will also interact with the ITBP personnel at Kibithoo.

An exhibition of the products made by women members of Self-Help Groups of border districts will also be organized.

On April 11, Union Home Minister will visit Namti field and pay homage at the Walong War Memorial, the statement added.

The visit of the Union Home Minister comes days after the Chinese government has renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh - a nothing new move which has been rejected outright by the Central Government.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement had said, "Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality."