Development plan reviewed for over 124 border villages

A comprehensive roadmap has been prepared for the focused development of 124 strategic villages across 43 border blocks in eight districts under the second phase of the Vibrant Villages Programme in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

The information was shared at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo to assess the progress and implementation of the Vibrant Villages Programme-II (VVP-II) in the Union Territory, an official spokesman said. He stated that a robust institutional framework has been established with nodal departments and officers designated at UT and district levels, alongside screening committees set up by the General Administration Department.

The programme covers the border districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir, and Samba, Jammu, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu division.

A comprehensive gap analysis has been carried out across 1,421 border villages to achieve saturation in four key areas – all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY-IV, telecom connectivity under Digital Bharat Nidhi, on-grid electrification under RDSS and television connectivity under the BIND scheme.

While 1,378 villages already have road connectivity, 30 strategic villages have been proposed for coverage under PMGSY-IV, the spokesman said. Surveys for 169 habitations have also been completed for norm relaxations to facilitate road access in difficult terrain.

Regarding telecom connectivity, the meeting was informed that BSNL has expedited 4G saturation surveys, with 98 vibrant villages currently covered and plans underway to extend services to remaining shadow zones, especially in Kupwara and Bandipora.

On electrification, officials said the districts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua have achieved 100 per cent coverage. The Power Development Department has been instructed to prioritise pending connections in Tulail Valley and Kupwara to ensure grid access for the remaining 1,402 households in Kupwara and 2,574 in Bandipora.

To bridge the information gap, efforts are underway to provide DTH facilities to households with television sets, particularly in Baramulla and Kupwara.

District nodal officers are finalising village action plans using geo-tagging technology to align development works with needs identified in the gap analysis.

Beyond physical infrastructure, VVP-II prioritises financial inclusion, tourism promotion and cultural heritage preservation. The roadmap includes medical camps, awareness programmes and tourism initiatives aimed at boosting the local economy and strengthening national integration, the spokesman added.