A total of 4,153 Village Defence Groups (VDG) and 32,355 Special Police Officers were engaged in Jammu and Kashmir in different responsibilities for the protection of civilians and anti-terrorists operations.
According to the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2022-23, the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir was affected by terrorist and secessionist violence, sponsored and supported from across the border for about three decades.
The ongoing militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is linked with infiltration of terrorists from across the border both from the International Border as well as the Line of Control, it said.
The MHA annual report stated that in view of the prevailing security scenario, the Village Defence Group scheme was notified by the Jammu and Kashmir government in 1995 and the scheme has been revised and notified on August 14, 2022.
"The members of the Village Defence Group are designated as Village Defence Guards. At present, the sanctioned strength of Village Defence Group is 4,985, of which 4,153 Village Defence Groups have been constituted," the report said.
The original name of the VDG was Village Defence Committee (VDC). The idea to set up VDC was conceived in the arming of ex-service personnel in the 1965 and 1971 wars to check Pakistani infiltration and espionage, officials said.
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