Guidelines for Border Area Development Programme released

The Department of Border Management of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 8 July 2015 issued modified Border Area Development Programme (BDAP) guidelines.

The guidelines were issued 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:
• 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 of 17 States which constitute the International Land Borders.
• 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.
• The list of schemes permissible under BADP has been expanded to include schemes/ activities relating to
a) Swatchhta Aabhiyan
b) Skill Development programmes
c) Promotion of sports activities in border areas
d) Promotion of Rural Tourism/ Border Tourism
e) Protection of heritage sites
f) Construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas, which do not have road connectivity
g) Skill development training to farmers for the use of modern/ scientific technique in farming, Organic farming, and others
• 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.
• 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.
• 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, E-chaupals, agrishops, mobile media vans etc. have been made.

Background
The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) is implemented through 17 States which constitute the International Land Borders. The 17 states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

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 990 crore rupees.

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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