Village Defence Committees (VDC)

Why in News?

• Recently, Lieutenant Governor of the Jammu and Kashmir declared to revive Village Defence Committees (VDC) amid recent militant attacks.

Highlights

• The VDC were set up in the mid – 1990s as a force multiplier against militant attacks.
• Its aim was to provide residents of remote hilly villages with weapons and give them arms training to defend themselves.
• The militancy that began in Kashmir in the early 1990s had spread to the adjoining Doda district by mid 1990s.
• The demand for arming the civilian population first rose after the massacre of 13 people in Kishtwar in 1993.
• The Home Ministry in 1995 decided to set up the VDCs. Later, the scheme was expanded to other areas of the Jammu division as militants extended their activities to Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua and Samba districts
• During the peak of militancy in most parts of Jammu division, especially areas falling in Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal regions, the hills of Udhampur, and Reasi and Kathua districts, the VDCs played a significant role in combating militancy.
• They were the most-feared armed groups among militants in areas where poor road networks delayed the arrival of security forces.
• The villagers, well-versed with the local topography, averted many militant attacks and helped in their capture and killings.
• 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 2022.
• The VDGs will function under the direction of the Senior superintendent of police (SSP)/superintendent of police (SP) of the district concerned.