Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday arrived in Assam’s Dibrugarh.

Shah was received by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He is on a two-day visit to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. He will fly to Arunachal on a chartered flight.

The Home Minister will launch ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ in Kibithoo today, a border village in Arunachal Pradesh.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India has approved the VVP with central components of Rs 4,800 crore including Rs 2,500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26.

The VVP is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development.

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

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

District Administration with the help of appropriate mechanisms at the block and panchayat level will prepare Action Plans for the identified village to ensure 100 per cent saturation of central and state schemes.

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

The Home Minister will also inaugurate nine Micro Hydel Projects of the Arunachal Pradesh government constructed under the “Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme” in Kibithoo.

These electricity projects will empower people living in border villages. He will also inaugurate Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) projects to augment infrastructure at Likabali (Arunachal Pradesh), Chapra (Bihar), Nooranad (Kerala) and Vishakapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

An exhibition of the products made by women members of Self-Help Groups of border districts will be organised as well.

Amit Shah will visit exhibition stalls to acquaint himself and to appreciate the efforts of women of border villages.

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