New Delhi, Aug. 26 -- Union Home and Cooperation minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said demographic changes are taking place in border areas as part of a "deliberate design" and they directly impact the security of the country and its borders.
Shah urged the collectors of border districts to take appropriate action to remove illegal religious encroachments.
He said all illegal encroachments within at least a 30-kilometre radius from the borders should be removed and lauded the Gujarat government for doing "commendable work" in clearing numerous encroachments along both maritime and land borders.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Vibrant Villages Programme workshop here, the Home minister said the VVP is based on three key points -- preventing migration from border villages, ensuring that every citizen of border villages receives 100 per cent benefits of Central and state government schemes and developing the villages under the VVP into strong tools to strengthen border and national security.
Shah asked the district magistrates to ensure that despite challenging geographical conditions, citizens do not abandon their villages, migration is prevented and the village population also increases.
"The collectors of districts included in the Vibrant Villages Programme need to address this issue with seriousness and attention to detail. Demographic changes in border areas directly impact the security of the country and its borders," he said.
He also asked the chief secretaries of states and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to pay attention to this issue.
The Home minister, who unveiled a VVP logo at the event, said that after implementing the programme in Arunachal Pradesh, the population in many border villages has increased, marking the beginning of reverse migration. He said the initiative seeks to strengthen infrastructure, preserve culture, promote tourism, create jobs, and revitalise border areas.
He said Prime Minister Modi, by designating the last village of the country as the first village, has changed people's perspective towards border villages.
The villages identified early under the VVP in a few years will prove to be very significant tools in the security of the country and its borders, he said.
He said it is the responsibility of the chief secretaries of state governments, district collectors of villages included in the VVP, and all CAPFs to not limit themselves to the VVP alone and to consider what additional steps can be taken beyond the programme to achieve its objectives.
He said to realise the vision of the VVP, it is necessary to achieve 100 per cent saturation of government schemes, promote essential public facilities for tourism, and encourage cooperative institutions to create employment opportunities.
The Army deployed at the borders should take responsibility for generating employment in vibrant villages in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.