Meghalaya, 8 other states get Rs 167-crore border fund

NEW DELHI: Meghalaya is among the nine states with international border which have received Rs 167 crore from the Home Ministry for the development of infrastructure in forward areas, an official said on Tuesday.
Besides Meghalaya, other states which will get the fund are Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, Sikkim, Tripura, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP), the official said.
The fully centrally funded BADP programme covers all villages which are located within 0-10 km of the international border in 17 states.
However, priority is given to those villages which are identified by border guarding forces for speedy development of infrastructure.
The schemes permissible under BADP include activities relating to the cleanliness mission, skill development programmes, promotion of sports activities, promotion of rural tourism, border tourism and protection of heritage sites.
Construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas which do not have road connectivity, skill development training to farmers for the use of modern and scientific technique in farming, organic farming are other areas which come under BADP.
While Rajasthan and Punjab share border with Pakistan, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya share boundary with Bangladesh.
Bihar shares border with Nepal, Sikkim shares border with Nepal and Bhutan and Himachal Pradesh share border with China.
Earlier, the Home Ministry had released Rs 174 crore to six states having international border under the same programme. (PTI)