Efforts on to integrate border populations into national mainstream: J&K L-G

On the eve of the first anniversary of the Operation Sindoor, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) said the Centre was implementing a comprehensive strategy “to integrate border populations into the national mainstream”.

“The Government of India is implementing a comprehensive strategy under the Vibrant Villages Programme, which aims to integrate border populations into the national mainstream with focus on livelihood generation, infrastructure and connectivity,” said Mr. Sinha.

He said the programme also aimed to saturate all villages in four thematic areas, which included all-weather road connectivity, telecom connectivity, television connectivity and electrification through convergence under existing scheme norms. 

Several border villages, especially in Rajouri, Poonch, Kupwara and Baramulla districts, were targeted by the Pakistani Army in 2025. The shelling resulted in the deaths of around 21 civilians and dozens of structures were also damaged. 

Mr. Sinha said the administration was resolute to elevate the border settlements from the periphery of neglect to the forefront of national progress. “Border villages like Regal (the Jammu region’s Samba district) are the backbone of India. Our glorious history was forged in the arduous paths of these border villages,” he added.

He said efforts were being made to ensure that the aspirations of every single citizen were fulfilled, that the development demands of border residents were met. “We must ensure that by 2030, not a single family in the border villages of Samba remains below the poverty line,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

Mr. Sinha said the administration was also committed to providing land ownership rights to displaced persons.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sinha visited the Regal Border Out Post (BoP) and interacted with the jawans. He lauded their “unwavering determination in guarding the nation’s frontiers” and commended their exemplary role in Operation Sindoor.