Why are sectioned VDGs not formed?

Amidst the public outcry gaining the momentum for revival of Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in the
vulnerable villages in Jammu province, what the people are not taking note of is Government of India has
already sanctioned the Village Defence Guards (VDGs) under the fresh nomenclature on August 15, 2022.
There is no question of revival of VDGs but why the sanctioned VDGs could not take place after over four
months. Why was it delayed so much?
Noticing that after an armed villager scared away terrorists who were on a killing spree in Rajouri's
Upper Dhangri village on Sunday, there has been a growing call in Jammu division to strengthen Village
Defence Committees (VDCs), which were formed in the mid-1990s to thwart terrorists' nefarious designs.
While the militants were going from house to house killing Hindus, VDC member Bal Krishan (42), who
owns a small cloth shop in Upper Dhangri village, pulled out his old.303 rifle and fired at them, forcing them
to flee into the nearby forests. His quick action helped avert what could have been a massacre.
According to him, the terrified terrorists began looking for the source of the gunfire after he opened fire.
He quickly reloaded the rifle and fired again, causing the terrorists to flee. “The terrorists would have killed
many people if they had stayed there for five more minutes,” said Bal Krishan, a VDC member who
received the weapon and training to use it in 1998.
But the government under political pressure from Kashmir centric leaders carried a relentless campaign
for weakening the VDCs and finally to be disregarded. The VDCs have been ignored despite being
considered the first line of defence against terrorists.
Under a consistent and adverse campaign, the erstwhile state government discontinued the VDC
members training for years, stopping their remunerations and finally disarmed them. According to former
DG Police, Shesh Paul Vaid, ‘the VDCs became so effective that they not only thwarted terror attacks, but
also engaged militants until security personnel arrived.'
According to the villagers, previously, there were 15-20 VDC members in villages, but their weapons
were confiscated for a variety of reasons after terrorism declined. Sarpanch of the villages Deeing felt that
at least 20-25 men should be armed with automatic weapons.
Pertinent to note that in a communication to the J&K administration in March last year, the Union Home
Ministry ordered the formation of Village Defence Groups (VDGs) as a measure to revitalise the VDCs.
What stopped the Administration to establish the VDGs in the vulnerable villages is a serious question that
needs answering. Villagers claimed that nothing had been done in this regard. The Lieutenant Governor's
administration needs to act fast in the matter to save innocent lives in days to come.