New Delhi: China claims a large part of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory, and calls the area ‘Zangnan’ in Chinese language. The Indian government has steadfastly asserted that Arunachal has “been” and will “always be” an integral part of India, rejecting China’s latest ‘announcement’ of renaming 11 places in the northeastern state.
It’s under such a backdrop that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting Arunachal on April 10 and 11.
The official reason of the Home Minister’s two-day trip is launching of the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ (VVP) in Kibithoo, a village in Anjaw district, along the Indo-China border.
It will also surely send a subtle message across the border about how important Arunachal is to India, and also, the seriousness of the Narendra Modi government in the development of the crucial northeastern state.
The VVP is a centrally-sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development.
Of the 662 villages identified for priority coverage in the first phase, 455 are in Arunachal.
The Centre has allocated Rs 4,800 crore for VVP, including Rs 2,500 crore for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26, the Union Home ministry said on Saturday.
VVP will help improve quality of life of people living in those identified border villages and encourage people to stay at their native locations, thus reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to the security of the border, the statement said.
Shah, who will be on his first visit to Arunachal as Home Minister, will inaugurate nine micro hydel projects of the state government constructed under the ‘Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme’ in Kibithoo.
He will also inaugurate Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) projects to augment infrastructure at Likabali (Arunachal Pradesh), Chapra (Bihar), Nooranad (Kerala) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), the ministry informed.
During his visit, Shah will be interacting with ITBP personnel at Kibithoo.
On April 11, he will visit Namti field to pay homage at the Walong war memorial.
