Itanagar, 15 July (HS): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has informed that 66 villages along the India-Myanmar border of the state have been identified for development under the Vibrant Village Program (VVP) of the Central Government.
Sharing information on social media, the Chief Minister said that these villages are located in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. Of these, the maximum 42 villages are in Changlang district, 13 in Longding and 11 villages in Tirap district.
Khandu termed this initiative as 'Last Mile Development' and said that special attention will be given to roads, telecom, electricity, livelihood opportunities and skill development in these villages.
According to the 2011 census, among the selected villages, Wakka village of Longding district has the highest population, where more than 2,000 people live. This is followed by Gandhigram (1,754) in Changlang and Khanu (1,629) in Longding.
On the other hand, the least populated villages are located in Changlang district—Old Potuk (41), Gaherigram (57) and Lungtung (71).
The list of identified villages is as follows: Tirap district: Old Bunting, Sanliam, Raho, Laju, Noglo, Upper Chinhan, Lower Chinhan, Tutanyu, Lonyen, New Kotung, and Nogna. Longding district: Wakka, Khanu, Chongkho, Chop, Khogla, Kampong, Jagan, Khasa, Kannu, Konsa, Lower Pongchau, Pongchau, Pongchau Headquarter, and Votnu. And, Changlang district: 42 villages spread across Khagam-Miao, Kantang, Khimiong, Manmao, Nampong, Yatdam, and Vijaynagar blocks.
According to officials, the scheme will work towards motivating local residents to stay in the border villages by improving essential facilities like tourism, housing, renewable energy, roads and telecommunications.
It is noteworthy that in the first phase of VVP, on February 15, 2023, the central government had approved 455 villages located on the Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Tibet border for development, out of which 135 villages are still deprived of road connectivity.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash
