New Delhi, Aug 26 (UNI) Home Minister Amit Shah today expressed serious concern over demographic shifts in India’s border areas, calling them a potential threat to national security, and said these changes are not the result of natural geographic conditions but are part of a “deliberate design.”
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) workshop here, Shah referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech in which the PM had highlighted the issue from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a Home Ministry statement said.
Shah asked the district collectors of areas under the Vibrant Villages Programme to handle this matter with “seriousness and attention to detail.” He also urged Chief Secretaries of states and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to remain vigilant and proactive.
“Demographic changes in border areas directly impact the security of the country and the border. Chief Secretaries of states and CAPF need to pay attention to this issue,” the Home Minister said.
Shah said that in Vibrant Villages Programme-1, efforts were limited to the programme itself, but in Vibrant Villages Programme-2, there is a need to change the administrative approach.
He urged collectors of border districts to take appropriate action to remove illegal religious encroachments, stating that these encroachments are part of a deliberate design.
He stressed that all illegal encroachments within at least a 30-kilometer radius from the border should be removed.
“Villages identified early under the Vibrant Villages Programme in a few years will prove to be very significant tools in the security of our country and its borders. Through this programme, efforts have been made to promote infrastructure development, preserve and enhance culture, generate employment through tourism, and make village life vibrant in every way, with a vision of multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral development,” Shah said.
While underscoring the strategic importance of India’s border villages, Shah called for a comprehensive approach to their development under the Vibrant Villages Programme.
Shah said the VVP rests on three key pillars — preventing outmigration, ensuring 100 per cent coverage of government welfare schemes, and transforming border villages into strong instruments of national security.
He urged Chief Secretaries, District Collectors, and CAPFs to go beyond the parameters of the VVP and explore innovative, region-specific solutions to strengthen the programme’s impact.
“To fulfil the vision of Vibrant Villages, we must achieve total saturation of government schemes, develop tourism-related public infrastructure, and encourage cooperative institutions to generate employment,” Shah said.
He stressed that if initiatives like homestays are extended to border villages and state tourism departments make proper arrangements for bookings, every household in these border villages will have employment. Shah emphasised that the rural development departments of states must work towards establishing the pride of these villages, with District Collectors playing a crucial role in this effort.
He noted that if villages have all facilities and employment opportunities, local residents will not wish to migrate. He further stated that young District Collectors should ensure that, despite challenging geographical conditions, citizens do not abandon their villages, migration is prevented and the village population also increases.
Shah also called for closer coordination between district administrations and CAPFs to achieve 100 percent saturation of government schemes in border villages under the Vibrant Villages Programme.
Citing a successful model in Arunachal Pradesh, Shah highlighted how the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been purchasing daily essentials like milk, vegetables, eggs and grains from nearby border villages, boosting the local economy.
Shah further stressed that the armed forces deployed along the borders should also take an active role in village-level economic development. He suggested that the Army, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Defence work in close coordination to identify employment-generating initiatives tailored to these strategic regions.
He said that border villages should have facilities for telecommunications, road connectivity, education, healthcare, and clean drinking water. The VVP should not remain just a government program but should become the spirit of administration.
The VVP workshop was organised by the Border Management Division, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) . Shah also launched the logo of the Vibrant Villages Programme.
Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Home Secretary, Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Border Management Secretary, Chief Secretaries of border states, Directors General of security forces deployed for border protection and District Magistrates of the concerned districts attended the function.
