LHASA: The ruling Communist Party in China has claimed the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) would invest 13.7 billion yuan (about $1.99 billion) in 2023 in initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of local residents, especially in the new border defense villages across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the border with India, the Tibetan Review reported.

The Tibetan review said most of the border defense villages in recent years have been built in environmentally forbidding areas by forcefully relocating Tibetan farmers in Xiaokang (well-off) villages, some of them in areas claimed by India and Bhutan.

The villages are forced to help secure Chinese-ruled Tibet’s border with India, with the villagers also employed in various border-defense jobs, the report stated further.

The initiatives include providing livelihood subsidies for border residents, supporting medical professionals in aiding Tibet, and upgrading the oxygen supply facilities in border counties and townships located in areas 3,500 meters above sea level, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency on February 22, citing the regional government, as reported by the Tibetan Review.

With an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, Tibet experiences harsh conditions such as extreme cold and a lack of oxygen. For this reason, improving the well-being of local residents has been a top priority, the regional government said.

The report stated further that a total of 630 million yuan would be allocated to support the construction of heating projects in the country and district public hospitals, and the operation of community-level heating facilities. (ANI)