GUWAHATI: The Centre has expanded the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) to villages along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam under its second phase, at a time when concerns over illegal infiltration and demographic changes continue to dominate political discussions in the state.
The programme, which was earlier focused on the northern frontier, has now been extended to strategically important villages in Assam. The move comes amid persistent anxieties about cross-border infiltration and security vulnerabilities. Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to a remote village in Assam underlined the government’s attempt to combine development initiatives with national security priorities. At the same time, border forces have indicated that infiltration attempts have declined following political instability in Bangladesh.
The Vibrant Villages Programme was first launched in 2023 with an outlay of Rs 4,800 crore. It covered 2,967 villages along the northern border in states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Ladakh. The focus was on strengthening settlements near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The scheme was widely seen as a response to China’s construction of more than 600 settlements opposite Arunachal Pradesh. Officials said the aim was to check out-migration from border areas by improving roads, livelihoods and basic services. The government also reframed the narrative by calling them “first villages” instead of “last villages,” aligning with the initiative with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of self-reliant and secure borders.
In April 2025, Phase II of the programme was approved with a larger outlay of Rs 6,320 crore. This phase covers 1,954 villages across 12 states and two Union Territories. The expansion now includes villages along India’s borders with Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
In Assam, 140 villages in districts such as Cachar and Karimganj have been brought under the scheme. The Indo-Bangladesh border stretches 4,096 kilometres and includes riverine belts and dense forested terrain. Over the years, the region has remained sensitive due to smuggling, human trafficking and illegal entry.
According to official data, infiltration attempts rose to 1,104 detected cases in 2025, the highest in nearly a decade. This spike followed political instability in Bangladesh after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has repeatedly raised concerns about demographic change. He has projected that the Muslim population in Assam could increase from 34 percent in 2011 to 40 percent by 2027, attributing much of the rise to migrants of Bangladeshi origin. He has argued that such changes could impact the political and cultural identity of such as Dhubri and Barpeta. Security officials, however, have offered a more nuanced assessment. Former Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary had stated that infiltration “has gone down substantially” following the regime change in Bangladesh. He credited cooperation with the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) for maintaining stability during the crisis.
Speaking at a bilateral meeting in February 2025, he said more than 2,550 Bangladeshi nationals were detained in 2025, but joint patrols and intelligence sharing had reduced overall risks.
Even so, BSF inspections in Assam’s South Salmara sector and the neighbouring Cooch Behar sector have highlighted continuing challenges. Officials cite persistent smuggling networks and concerns about radicalisation. There are also apprehensions that Pakistan’s ISI could attempt to exploit the eastern corridor to support insurgent activities in the Northeast. According to a senior BSF officer, the border remains vulnerable to sleeper agents and economic migrants. Between February 2024 and January 2026, 1,422 pushbacks were recorded, including 81 cases in late 2025 alone.
Home Minister Amit Shah formally launched Phase II of the programme from Nathampur village in Cachar on February 20, 2026. During the event, he declared that the government would “send back every infiltrator” and accused the Congress of keeping borders “open” in the past, alleging that this had led to demographic imbalance.
