Arunachal Pradesh Gears Up For Transformation: Over 1,000 Km Of Roads Approved Under Vibrant Villages Programme

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu recently announced a significant boost to the state's infrastructure with the approval of approximately 1,022 kilometres of roads under the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The central government's flagship programme was launched in 2023. The VVP aims at comprehensive development in select villages across 46 blocks in 19 districts, focusing on livelihood generation, tourism, cultural heritage promotion, skill development, entrepreneurship, and the development of cooperative societies.

Khandu expressed gratitude for the MHA's sanctioning of the extensive road network, highlighting that Arunachal Pradesh has the highest number of border villages listed under the programme.

The Chief Minister commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reshaping the concept of border villages, citing the example of Gelling, which transformed from the 'last village' to the 'first village' on the Indian side in the Tuting sub-division.

He revealed a blueprint for overhauling the existing planning process, promising stakeholder involvement at the ground level for a more effective and people-centric approach.

"The new planning process will extensively involve stakeholders at the ground level as it is the people in villages and officers on the ground who know what is required. So our state plan will stand on the inputs from the ground. The entire process will be from bottom to top, not like the erstwhile top-to-bottom process," he affirmed, reports Economic Times.

Khandu assured that this new model of planning will accelerate holistic development across all villages in the state, with optimal utilisation of government resources.