J&K: Village Defence Guards Scheme approved, VDC members hailed the move
| 17-Aug-2022 |
The members of Village Defence Committee in J&K's Poonch and Rajouri districts celebrated receiving 'permanent status' under the Village Defence Guards Scheme (VDGS), day after the Ministry of Home Affairs sanctioned approval for the creation of Village Defence Guard Scheme - 2022 in Jammu and Kashmir.
We express our gratitude to PM Modi for the scheme. We suffered a lot and tackled terrorism at the local level where Army could not reach," expressed villagers.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday thanked Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, for showing his constant concern for the people of the Union Territory.
"Thanks PM Sh @NarendraModi for your constant concern for #JammuAndKashmir. Huge relief from the Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Sh @AmitShah. Sanction accorded to Village Defence Guards Scheme (VDGS) 2022 for Jammu and Kashmir," tweeted Singh today.
The official communication from the UT government has also given details about the scheme.
“The members of the Village Defence Group shall be designated as Village Defence Guard (VDG)," the home ministry said in a communication to the J&K government in March. “In more vulnerable areas, persons (V1 category) who shall be leading/ coordinating the VDG would be paid of Rs. 4500/- per month and other persons (V2 category) who are members of these VDGs on voluntary basis will be paid a uniform rate Rs. 4000/- per month. VDGs will function under the direction of SP/SSP of the concerned District."
According to the J&K government, the Village Defence Guards scheme is intended to inculcate an attitude of self-protection in security matters amongst the local population and also to supplement the ongoing efforts of the security forces in dealing with the acts of subversion and trans-border movement. “It is a manifestation of the will of the people to actively and voluntarily participate in the efforts to thwart the nefarious designs of the anti-national elements and to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the nation," a government document says.
Earlier, this scheme was known as Village Defence Committe in which volunteers from villages were trained by Indian Army and Police. Under this scheme, rifles were provided to VDC's and they protected their villages from terrorist attacks and terror-related activities specially the vulnerable villages in mountainous areas of Jammu region. VDC members had helped Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police in the fight against Terrorism.
However, the VDC members have long argued that this committee needs to be more well-organised and that choices need to be made on their compensation. Earlier, members of this committee had also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the same.
Aim of Village Defence Guards scheme (VDG's) :-
According to the government, the aim of the Village Defence Guards (VDGs) scheme is to organise a small group of volunteer armed civilians in the identified villages along the borders as well as in-depth areas of the Jammu division, with a view to instill a sense of self-protection and ensure the safety and security of such villages, infrastructure installations in and around them, and to check the trans-border movement. “Under the Scheme, the Village Defence Guards shall be charged with the responsibility of protecting community installations and infrastructure facilities within the defined areas of their village and the Village Defence Guards would conduct night and day patrolling in a systematic manner," the communication says.