People are beginning to return to villages in several border districts of Arunachal Pradesh under the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), despite the central government not having conducted any formal assessments of the initiative’s impact on reverse migration or related metrics. This information was presented to the Lok Sabha on February 3 through a written response by Nityanand Rai, the Minister of State for Home Affairs. He noted that while there has been no official impact study, the state government has observed initial signs of return migration.
In response to a query from BJP MP Baijayant Panda about the government’s evaluation of the VVP’s influence on reverse migration, women’s entrepreneurship, and youth-led innovation in border regions, Rai clarified that the first phase of the Vibrant Villages Programme was approved in February 2023. This centrally sponsored scheme aims at the comprehensive development of selected villages along the northern border, encompassing 46 blocks across 19 districts in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and the Union Territory of Ladakh. Originally, 662 villages were prioritized for this development.
The VVP was subsequently expanded with the approval of a second phase in April 2025, which extends its reach to border blocks along international land borders in 15 states and two Union Territories outside the northern region. Under this second phase, 1,954 villages have now been identified for development.
Regarding implementation, Rai informed the House that a total of 2,558 projects have been sanctioned under VVP-I, with a financial outlay of approximately Rs 3,431 crore. These projects include collaborations with other central ministries and departments. To date, over 8,500 activities have been carried out, which range from awareness campaigns and service delivery camps to training programs and health camps, along with various fairs and tourism initiatives in the involved regions.
The main goal of this scheme is to create sufficient incentives to encourage people to either stay in or return to these selected border villages.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/arunachal-pradesh/story/no-impact-study-yet-but-villagers-returning-to-arunachal-border-areas-centre-1340921-2026-02-03?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-02-03 19:51:00
