Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday announced that 66 villages situated along the Indo-Myanmar border have been earmarked for focused development under the Centre’s Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), aimed at strengthening infrastructure and livelihood opportunities in remote frontier regions.
The selected villages are located across the border districts of Changlang, Longding, and Tirap.
Of these, Changlang district accounts for the highest number with 42 villages, followed by 13 in Longding and 11 in Tirap.
Khandu, sharing the update via social media, described the initiative as a step toward “last-mile development,” with emphasis on improving roads, telecommunications, electricity access, skill development, and livelihood support.
As per 2011 Census data, Wakka village in Longding district is the most populous among the selected locations, housing over 2,000 residents.
It is followed by Gandhigram in Changlang with 1,754 people and Khanu in Longding with 1,629.
At the other end of the spectrum, the least populated villages—Old Potuk (41), Gaherigram (57), and Lungtung (71)—are all located in Changlang.
The identified villages in Tirap include Old Bunting, Sanliam, Raho, Lazu, Noglo, Upper Chinhan, Lower Chinhan, Tutnyu, Lonyen, New Kothung, and Nogna. In Longding district, Wakka, Khanu, Chongkhow, Chop, Khogla, Kampong, Jagan, Khasa, Konnu, Konsa, Lower Pongchau, Pongchau, Pongchau HQ, and Votnu have been included.
Changlang’s 42 villages are spread across the blocks of Khagam-Miao, Kantang, Khimiyong, Manmao, Nampong, Yatdam, and Vijoynagar.
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Officials stated that the Vibrant Villages Programme seeks to bridge infrastructure and service delivery gaps in key sectors such as connectivity, housing, tourism, renewable energy, and telecommunications, while also creating local livelihood and skill development opportunities to encourage sustainable settlement in these strategically located villages.
The VVP, launched by the central government in 2023, initially covered 455 villages along the Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Tibet borders.
Of these, 135 villages were identified as unconnected and prioritized for basic infrastructure interventions in the first phase.
