Comprehensive approach for Border Area Development Programme
The Department of Border Management of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has issued modified Border Area Development Programme (BDAP) guidelines in consultation with all Stakeholders viz. concerned Ministries/Departments of Government of India, State Governments implementing the BADP, Border Guarding Forces and NITI Aayog.
The modified guidelines include important modifications in the BADP guidelines as follows:
(i) Coverage of BADP has been extended to cover all the villages which are located within the 0-10 Km of the International Border, irrespective of the border block abutting on the International Border or not of 17 States which constitute the International Land Borders. However, priority will be given to those villages which are located within 0-10 Km from the International Border and within that the villages identified by the Border Guarding Forces (BGF) shall get upper-most priority.
(ii) Representatives of some more Union Ministries viz. Ministry of Rural Development; Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs; Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; and Ministry of Human Resources, have been made Members of the Empowered Committee (EC) on BADP under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Border Management, MHA, to ensure convergence with the schemes of these Ministries with BADP schemes.
(iii) The list of schemes permissible under BADP has been expanded to include schemes/ activities relating to Swatchhta Aabhiyan; Skill Development programmes; Promotion of sports activities in border areas; Promotion of Rural Tourism/ Border Tourism; Protection of heritage sites; Construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas, which do not have road connectivity; Skill development training to farmers for the use of modern/ scientific technique in farming, Organic farming, etc.
(iv) Provision for Third Party Inspection and Quality Control Mechanism under MHA for random inspections of the BADP schemes by independent Monitors (Individual/ Agency) to be designated as National Quality Monitors has been made.
(v) It has been provided that the State Governments shall have the monitoring of the BADP schemes by the existing District Level Monitoring/ vigilance Committee where local Members of Parliament and MLAs are represented.
(vi). Special/Specific area schemes such as composite development of at least one village of sizeable population surrounded by five-six or more villages close to the border as Model Village; Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Construction of toilets in schools, public places particularly for women; warehouses for food grains and fodder in hilly areas particularly in snow bound areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, E-chaupals, agrishops, mobile media vans etc. have been made.
The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) has been implemented through 17 States (viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal) which constitute the International Land Borders. It is implemented in 367 Border Blocks of 104 Border Districts in these 17 States.
The main objective of the BADP is to meet the special developmental needs and well being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of Central/ State/ BADP/ Local schemes and participatory approach. The funds under BADP are provided to the States as a 100% non-lapsable Special Central Assistance. The programme is supplemental in nature and the budget allocation for the financial year 2015-16 is Rs.990 crore.
The BADP was started in the year 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas of States bordering Pakistan, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan and subsequently it was extended to all the land borders.
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KSD/PK/BK