Shillong, July 11: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced that 92 border villages in Meghalaya have been identified for inclusion under Phase II of the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), reinforcing the Centre’s commitment to ensuring “safe, secure, and vibrant” land borders.
Addressing a press conference, Sitharaman explained that while the first phase of the programme focused on western border villages near Pakistan, the second phase targets villages along India’s borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Tibet, China, Nepal, and others.
As part of this programme, she said, the aim is to provide basic amenities to these villages.
Union Finance Minister also emphasised that the objective is to achieve complete infrastructure and service saturation—ensuring access to good roads, drinking water, primary health care, quality education, housing, toilets, and skill development programmes.
The Finance Minister noted that during her visit to Sohra on Saturday, she would be touring some of these villages.
“Vibrant Villages is now a more holistic and comprehensive development model for border areas,” she said.
According to her, the programme goes beyond physical infrastructure like roads or telecom connectivity.
She further said that it also focuses on creating livelihood opportunities and improving basic indicators such as education and employment.
“The scope of development has significantly widened under the Vibrant Villages Programme,” she added.
It may be mentioned that the programme, with a total outlay of Rs 6,839 crore, will be implemented in selected strategic villages across several States and Union Territories—including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir (UT), Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal—until FY 2028-29.
Meanwhile, Sitharaman also highlighted the Centre’s financial support to Meghalaya over the past decade. Between 2004 and 2014, tax devolution to all states stood at Rs 7,273 crore.
She informed that there is surged by 572 percent to Rs 48,883 crore between 2014 and 2024, with Meghalaya being a major beneficiary.
Similarly, Union Finance Minister informed that grants-in-aid rose from Rs 19,700 crore in 2004–2014 to Rs 40,452 crore in 2014–2024—more than double the previous decade.
She also highlighted the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASKI), introduced as a post-COVID stimulus.
Under this 50-year interest-free loan initiative, Rs 5.4 lakh crore has been disbursed to states since 2020.
According to her, Meghalaya alone received Rs 5,471 crore to support various infrastructure and development projects.
