The Indian Army, in order to give a boost to the foundational infrastructure, has identified 130 villages in the bordering regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. In an event of Friday, Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita, Commanding-in-Chief, Indian Army’s Eastern Command, said that the aim of developing model villages near the L.A.C. is to ensure ‘reverse migration’, and to stop people from leaving the region for better prospects.
Commander Rana added that out of the 130 villages identified by the army, 28 are in Sikkim, and the rest are situated in Arunachal Pradesh. The work on the strategy has been started in Arunachal’s Kaho village. China is expanding public settlements near the LAC. Work is also underway to create a sort of ‘single window system’ for the approval of any infrastructure development within 100 KMs of the LAC. This initiative has been taken in view of the delay in work on major projects due to the time taken in obtaining various regulatory clearances.
