As part of the nationwide initiative to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat, Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo today chaired a high-level meeting to assess the progress and implementation of the Vibrant Villages Programme – Phase II (VVP-II) acros Jammu & Kashmir.
The meeting, attended by the ACS Planning, ACS APD; Secretary Tribal Affairs; concerned DCs and other senior officers of concerned departments, focused on accelerating development interventions in strategically located border villages.
The Chief Secretary underscored the urgent need to complete comprehensive surveys to identify gaps in core components such as road connectivity, telecom services, television access and electricity supply in the identified villages.
He directed the departments to undertake detailed theme-wise gap analysis and expedite the formulation of individual Village Action Plans aimed at saturating these areas with essential infrastructure and services. He further called for the designation of dedicated nodal officers for each component to ensure focused monitoring and timely execution.Emphasising a whole-of-government approach, the Chief Secretary urged departments of IT, Health and Education to proactively identify deficiencies within their respective domains and initiate corrective interventions. He also stressed close coordination with BSNL and Prasar Bharati to strengthen telecom and television connectivity, while directing the concerned departments to prepare structured roadmaps for coverage of all thematic areas under their Village Action Plans.
ACS Planning, Ashish Chander Verma, informed the meeting that VVP-II is a centrally funded initiative with a national outlay of ?6,839 crore for the period 2024–25 to 2028–29. The programme aims to transform strategically important border villages into prosperous, sustainable and secure communities.
He highlighted that the scheme operates on a three-pronged strategy of saturating existing central and UT schemes, strengthening basic infrastructure and building enabling capacities for sustainable livelihood generation, thereby integrating border populations with the national mainstream.
The Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, apprised the meeting that a comprehensive roadmap has been prepared for J&K under which 124 strategic villages across 43 border blocks in 8 districts have been selected for focused development. He added that a robust institutional framework has been established with the designation of nodal departments and officers at the UT and district levels, along with the constitution of screening committees through the General Administration Department (GAD).
It was further informed that the programme covers the border districts of Baramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara, Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch. A comprehensive gap analysis has been conducted across 1,421 border villages to achieve saturation in four critical areas constituting all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY-IV, telecom connectivity under Digital Bharat Nidhi, on-grid electrification through RDSS, and television connectivity under the BIND scheme.
While 1,378 villages have already been connected with road infrastructure, 30 strategic villages have been proposed for connectivity under PMGSY-IV. Surveys for 169 habitations have also been completed for seeking norm relaxations to facilitate connectivity in difficult terrains.
With respect to telecom connectivity it was revealed that the BSNL has expedited 4G saturation surveys, with 98 of the selected vibrant villages currently covered and plans underway to extend services to remaining shadow areas, particularly in Kupwara and Bandipora districts.
Regarding electrification, districts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua have achieved 100 per cent coverage. The Power Development Department has been directed to prioritise pending works in Tulail Valley and Kupwara to ensure grid connectivity for the remaining 1,402 households in Kupwara and 2,574 households in Bandipora.
To bridge the information and communication gap, focused efforts are being made to provide DTH facilities to households with television sets, especially in border blocks of Baramulla and Kupwara.
For ensuring transparency and real-time monitoring, the Digital VVP Portal has been operationalised.
District Nodal Officers have completed verification of Local Government Directory (LGD) codes and are in the process of finalising Village Action Plans, which utilise geo-tagging technology to align development works with village-specific needs identified during the gap analysis.
Beyond physical infrastructure, VVP-II also prioritises financial inclusion, tourism promotion and preservation of cultural heritage.
The roadmap includes organisation of medical camps, awareness campaigns and tourism initiatives aimed at boosting the local economy and strengthening national integration.
It was reiterated that the Vibrant Villages Programme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme focused on the holistic development of villages along the northern borders by improving socio-economic conditions and ensuring a better quality of life for residents of identified border areas.