VILLAGE DEFENCE GUARDS - DEFENCE AND SECURITY
News: Jammu,
village defence and governance
What's in the news?
● The
rise in terror-related strikes in the relatively peaceful Jammu division,
especially in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, needs a closer look.
● Since
Dangri happened, the demand for a revival of the erstwhile Village Defence
Committees (VDC) has emerged from different quarters.
Key takeaways:
● The
government had issued instructions to operationalize VDC (rechristened as
Village Defence Guards, or VDG) in August
2022.
● As
in the policy, the VDGs were to instill a sense of self protection, with the district’s superintendent of police
mandated to exercise command and control.
● VDCs
have played a crucial role in containing militancy in the Jammu division, after
being set up in the mid-1990s.
● The
revival of Village Defence Guards should be lead to an empowerment of local
bodies as panchayats are most suited to understand local dynamics in a conflict
zone
Village Defence Committee:
● The
VDCs were first formed in the erstwhile Doda district (now Kishtwar, Doda and
Ramban districts) in mid 1990s as a force multiplier against militant attacks.
● The
then Jammu and Kashmir administration decided to provide residents of remote hilly villages with weapons and give them
arms training to defend themselves.
Village Defence Guards:
● The
VDCs have now been renamed as Village Defence Guards (VDG).
● The
new scheme to set up VDGs in vulnerable areas of J&K was approved by the
Union Ministry of Home Affairs in March last year.
● Like
a VDC member, each VDG will be provided a gun and 100 rounds of ammunition.
Features:
● Under
the new scheme, the persons leading the
VDGs will be paid Rs 4,500 per month by the government, while others will get
Rs 4,000 each.
● In
the VDCs, only the Special Police Officers (SPOs) leading them were provided a
remuneration of Rs 1,500 monthly.
○ The
SPOs, the lowest rank in the J&K Police, used to be retired army, para
military or police personnel.
Who will have control over the VDGs?
● The
VDGs will function under the direction of the SP/SSP of the district concerned.
What was the composition of VDCs?
● A minimum of 10-15
ex-servicemen, ex-policemen and able-bodied local youth were enrolled in each
VDC on a voluntary basis.
● On
an average, at least five of them were provided .303 rifles and 100 rounds
each, through the district Superintendent of Police.
● The
allotment of weapons could go up depending on the credentials of the
volunteers, total population of a village and its security requirements, as
assessed by the district magistrate and SSP concerned.
Need for VDC and VDG:
● Protect the civilians
from the militancy.
● Reduce the fear factor
among civilians.
● Make
civilians themselves protective.
● Both
VDG and VDC is a group of civilians provided guns and ammunition to tackle
militants in case of attack until the arrival of security forces.
● Pockets
with a VDC presence were those in remote areas; their difficult terrain and a
meagre presence of security forces made chances of successful operations
remote. VDCs were trained to hold the front against militants till the arrival
of security forces, thus proving to be force multipliers.