The central government, in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, approved seven new battalions to reinforce ITBP along the Line of Actual Control.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 15, 2023 20:10 IST
The Cabinet also decided to turn the ghost villages on the Indian side along the India-China border into Vibrant Villages.
By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: The central government on Wednesday sanctioned seven new battalions to strengthen the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force guarding the India-China LAC. The seven battalions have 9,400 new posts.
The decision, which was long pending, was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following this decision, the strength of ITBP in terms of numbers will increase on the India-China border.
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GHOST VILLAGES TO GET VIBRANT
The Cabinet also decided to turn the ghost villages on the Indian side along the India-China border into ‘Vibrant Villages’. The government will be allotting Rs 4,800 crore apart from Rs 2,500 crore that will be given for road construction. These could play a key role during the border crisis.
The budget allocated to these border villages is different from the border programs the government has already taken, including tourism. Owing to the dispensation’s special focus on the border regions, government officials will likely make ground visits to inspect the work progress.
According to home ministry sources, the vibrant village program will be undertaken in the border villages of Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Union minister Anurag Thakur said in a press conference that these villages would have facilities like round-the-clock electricity and an all-weather road in Ladakh.
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