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Border population is our strategic asset: Rajnath Singh

While interacting with field and state level officers implementing Border Area Development Programme (BADP) in New Delhi on Thursday, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh stressed that the border population is “strategic asset to the country and important element to maintain border security”.

Singh emphasised that all out efforts must be made to improve social and economic infrastructure to ensure that these people continue to live in border villages.

He assured New Delhi’s continued assistance to States to strengthen infrastructure and development activities under the BADP.

The outlay under this Programme has been increased to Rs. 1,100 crore in 2017-18 from Rs. 990 crore in 2015-16.

For comprehensive and all-round development of border villages, it has been decided to develop 61 model villages for which Rs. 126 crores have been released to the State Governments.

On the occasion, Singh launched BADP Online Management System for better planning, monitoring and implementation of various projects under BADP.

BADP covers 111 border districts in 17 States to meet special development needs of border population with focus on people living within 50 kilometers of the International Border. A total of Rs. 13,400 crore has been released since the programme was initiated in 1986-87.

Senior officers from all 17 States and District Magistrates from 25 border districts attended the programme. Presentations were given by State Governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal highlighting major achievements under the BADP and steps taken by the State Governments to improve quality of life for border population.

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