New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on Tuesday that demographic changes are occurring in border regions as part of a “deliberate design,” which poses direct implications for national security and border integrity. He urged district collectors in border areas to take necessary measures to eliminate illegal religious encroachments. He emphasized that all illegal structures within a 30-kilometre radius of the borders must be eradicated and praised the Gujarat government for its effective efforts in addressing several encroachments along both maritime and land borders.
Speaking at the opening session of the two-day Vibrant Villages Programme workshop in Delhi, Shah outlined that the VVP focuses on three main objectives: preventing migration from border villages, ensuring full access to government benefits for every resident in these areas, and transforming the villages under the VVP into robust assets for enhancing national security. He instructed district magistrates to ensure that residents do not leave their villages despite challenging geographic conditions, aiming to stop migration and encourage population growth in these areas. He recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on Independence Day regarding the concerning demographic changes. “Collectors in the Vibrant Villages Programme must approach this matter with seriousness and meticulousness.
Changes in border demographics have direct implications for the security of the nation and its borders,” Shah remarked. He stressed that these shifts should not be attributed solely to geographical factors but are part of a deliberate strategy. He also called on state chief secretaries and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to focus on this issue. “The Modi administration initiated this programme to curb outward migration from border villages and ensure full implementation of government schemes, instructing officials to remove encroachments within 30 kilometres of the border and to source daily supplies for the CAPFs and Army locally,” he noted.
At the event, the home minister unveiled a logo for the VVP, mentioning that after the programme’s implementation in Arunachal Pradesh, there has been a population increase in several border villages. “This serves as a positive indication for all border villages in our country that reverse migration trends are heading in the right direction,” he concluded.