UP: 47 villages sharing borders with Nepal to be developed under Vibrant Village Programme II

VVP Phase I was approved by the Union Cabinet on February 15, 2023, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), implemented from 2022-23 to 2025-26 with an outlay of ₹4,800 crore. It focused exclusively on 2,967 villages in 46 blocks across 19 districts abutting the northern border (China/LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh — addressing depopulation of border areas due to underdevelopment.

VVP Phase II was approved by the Union Cabinet on April 2, 2025, as a Central Sector Scheme (100% Centre funding, no state share) with an outlay of ₹6,839 crore for FY 2024-25 to 2028-29. Launched formally on February 20, 2026 by Home Minister Amit Shah.

Key Details

• VVP II geographic expansion: from China border only → all international borders (Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar)
• Total villages under VVP II: 1,954 strategic border villages
• Shift from CSS (shared funding) to Central Sector Scheme (100% central funding) in Phase II
• Key infrastructure components: all-weather roads, broadband/telecom connectivity, solar power, drinking water, health/education facilities, livelihood support
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs (VVP Portal: vvp.mha.gov.in)
• VVP replaced the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) — BADP was discontinued in September 2022 before VVP's launch

BADP was introduced during the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985-90) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. It covered habitations within 0-10 km of first habitation from international borders across 460 border blocks in 117 border districts across 16 states and 2 UTs.

Key Details

• BADP had a broader, less targeted coverage: it covered all border districts (including densely populated ones), diluting its strategic impact.
• VVP's design innovation: laser-focused on identified strategic/vulnerable villages showing depopulation trends — not all border villages.
• BADP was discontinued in September 2022; its pending works were subsumed into VVP.
• VVP VIllages had to meet specific criteria: remoteness, proximity to border, lack of basic infrastructure, migration trends.
• BADP funding model: shared between Centre and states; VVP II is 100% Centre-funded, ensuring uniformity of implementation.

The development of border areas involves the intersection of multiple constitutional provisions:

Key Details

• Article 248 (Residuary Powers): Grants Parliament exclusive legislative power over matters not listed in State or Concurrent lists. National security-linked border development programs derive their authority partly from residuary powers and partly from Union List entries.
• Entry 1, Union List: Defence of India — provides Union government authority over activities with a security dimension in border areas.
• Entry 23, Concurrent List: Social security and social insurance, employment — states can also legislate, but Centre's CSS/Central Sector Schemes take precedence.
• Central Sector Scheme vs. Centrally Sponsored Scheme: Central Sector Schemes are 100% funded by the Centre and implemented directly by central agencies or through states as agents. Centrally Sponsored Schemes involve mandatory state share (typically 40-60%). VVP II's shift to a Central Sector Scheme gives the Centre greater control over implementation and standards.
• Article 355: Union's duty to protect states from external aggression and internal disturbance — provides broader constitutional backing for Union intervention in border security infrastructure.

The original VVP focused on the LAC-adjacent areas (disputed boundary with China), not just the international boundary. The India-Nepal border, relevant to the current news, is an open international boundary — not disputed — under the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

Key Details

• India-Nepal boundary length: approximately 1,751 km, crossing Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim.
• UP's Nepal border: approximately 580 km (crossing Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Balrampur, Shrawasti, Siddharth Nagar, Maharajganj, and Kushinagar districts).
• The India-Nepal border is an open border — both citizens can cross freely without visa. This creates unique security challenges: smuggling, infiltration, cross-border criminal networks — making border village development strategically significant for internal security.
• The Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950 and the Sugauli Treaty (1816) are the foundational agreements governing the boundary.