Leh, Jun 03: In a significant step towards strengthening border settlements and enhancing living conditions in remote frontier areas, Lieutenant Governor Ladakh Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the first Model Border Village at Chumur under the Government of India’s ambitious Vibrant Village Programme (VVP), located at an altitude of 16,700 feet along the Indo-China border. This includes 24 households with a population of 91 people engaged in Pashmina rearing and production.
The project, which is the first of its kind in Ladakh and among the pioneering model border villages in India, will focus on four key pillars of development: infrastructure, employment and livelihood creation, all-weather functionality, and civilian-defence integration.
Under the programme, families will be provided with climate-resilient, south-facing passive solar houses designed to maximise solar heat gain and protect them from harsh winters when temperatures drop to -35 degrees Celsius. Each household will receive a residential unit with an attached bathroom, an additional room suitable for homestay activities, a kitchen garden space, livestock sheds, and dedicated fodder storage facilities. Houses are expected to be completed by September this year, subject to weather conditions.
The project aims to boost local economic activities by developing Chumur as a tourism destination on the Korzok-Hanle circuit. Tourism infrastructure, including a community-run café, promotion of handicrafts, Pashmina-based livelihoods, and value-added Pashmina products, will be facilitated. A 90 x 27 feet commercial greenhouse will be established with the support of DIHAR for year-round vegetable cultivation, with produce catering to local needs and nearby defence establishments.
The village has been planned as an all-weather settlement with a reliable water supply, improved sanitation and wastewater management systems, renewable energy-based power infrastructure, modern digital connectivity, and enhanced habitability during harsh winters. A central service core comprising a school, Primary Health Centre, community hall, parks, community café, and Tourist Interpretation Centre will provide essential services.
Addressing the gathering, LG Saxena described the project as a transformative initiative that seeks to enhance the security, stability, and resilience of the nation by strengthening border settlements.
“Chumur, owing to its strategic location, has been selected as Ladakh’s first Model Border Village under the VVP, a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has consistently emphasised that border villages are not the ‘last villages’ but the ‘first villages’ of India,” he said.
Beginning with Chumur, 10 such border villages will be developed as Model Border Villages in the first phase of VVP. The foundation-laying event witnessed jubilant celebrations from hundreds of locals, including youth and senior citizens—(KNO)
