“Kerala is a state with remarkable feats in decentralisation and grassroot level development, but most of its achievements go unnoticed because of the laxity in proper documentation and the lack of continuity in successful development projects due to change in political dispensations,” according to Dr. K.N. Harilal, Chairman, State Resource Group and Member, State Planning Board. He was speaking at a Webinar on “Nedumangad ‘Model’ and Block Panchayats: Lessons from Local Development” organised by the Inter University Centre for Social Science Research and Extension (IUCSSRE), Mahatma Gandhi University in association with the State Resource Group, Government of Kerala. Dr. Harilal said that “the local self-government (LSG) institutions in the State have made rapid strides in launching innovative micro-level projects and there are several panchayats, at all levels in the state irrespective of political affiliations, with significant pointers of offbeat outcomes. What a state like Kerala requires is a new spirit of, as well as a drive towards, university-institutional linkages with the academic bodies reaching out to the public.” Dr Harilal pointed out that “though this is an era of outreach programmes, we are not fully tapping the intellectual resources and expertise of our academic institutions for the benefit of our society.” He said that “the local level planning for development requires multiple sources of expertise which can be effectively utilised for the productive use of local resources, both material and human.” Dr Harilal also underlined the role of District Planning Committees (DPCs) which are expected to play a vital and integral role in the planning process.
Dr. Manju S. Nair, Honorary Director Centre for Agroecology and Public Health, and faculty, Department of Economics, University of Kerala said that “the functioning of Block Panchayaths often fail at a point where the statutory characteristics of the level are breached for convenience in execution and where the functional role is rarely distinguished from that of other tiers, particularly Grama Panchayaths.” However, she pointed out, “the evidence on instances of inadequacies in the functioning of Block Panchayaths cannot lead to a generalised judgement on the redundancy of an intermediate tier.” Dr. Manju said that “the development experience of Nedumangad Block Panchayath (NBP) is a success model which has replicable merits under the framework integrating concepts of Good Governance, Environmental Governance and sustainability.”
She said: “This is because, contrary to the general picture of dismal performance of Block Panchayaths in Kerala, there is the case of a particular Block Panchayath–NBP in Thiruvananthapuram district—effectively performing not only its general and specific functions, but also adopting innovative and sustainable interventions,” which led to bagging the Union Government’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayath Shaktheekaran Puraskar three years consecutively. Dr Manju said that “NBP stands out as an illustration with replicable merits, because it has proved that the specified general and sectoral functions assigned to a Block Panchayath can be performed effectively with an optimal mix of good governance, resource management and people’s participation. Further, the activities and schemes adopted by the Panchayath are in tune with sustainability interests, with a long-term achievable target of strengthening resource base, management of natural resources and consequently creating sustainable livelihood, under the larger purview of environmental governance.”
B. Biju, President, NBP said that his panchayat was selected for the national award in recognition of the collective work that was done for improving delivery of services and public goods. He said that NBP could be a model for the kind of collective efforts being put in place and it would be a standing testimony that even block panchayats have a significant role to play in development. NBP’s major initiative was to promote organic farming and the cleaning drive at Killiyar River. The focus of NBP projects has been on improving the lives and livelihood of people with innovative projects by conserving the environment.” “People were also able to earn profit from the incubation centre and organic farming which was returned to the block panchayat,” he said.
R. Subhash, President, All Kerala Block Panchayat Association, said that there are about 43 Block Panchayats in the State which have come up with replicable models of innovative projects and they need to be documented and the lessons to be disseminated across wider levels of LSGs. Citing the experience of Chirayinkeezhu block panchayat (CBP), he said that it became the first local body in the state to use geospatial information for optimum resource utilisation and development. The master plan put in place with the technical assistance of Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSREC) used geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning system (GPS) and satellite-based remote sensing, covering more than 100 wards spreading over six grama panchayats.
Subash said that the major highlight of the project was to boost the agrarian activities, along with giving stress to micro-level watershed-based action plans on participatory mode. These projects have also been envisaged to be undertaken under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Programme. He also highlighted the mental health activities undertaken by the CBP—something that rarely comes under the plans of LSGs. In CBP, a project called ‘Suraksha’ was launched aimed at community-based rehabilitation of mental health patients, implemented in the six grama panchayats coming under the panchayat. Over the past three years, those with mental health issues were identified through an intensive grass-root level survey covering more than 1.8 lakh people living in different panchayats under CBP, Subhash said. He also underlined the imperatives of bringing in the cooperative sector in strengthening the activities and programmes of LSGs.
According to K.B. Madan Mohan, Executive Co-ordinator, All Kerala Grama Panchayat Association, the models of innovative projects initiated and successfully implemented in various panchayats can be replicated only by comprehending the process that gets underway in the very conceptualisation and implementation of such plans. The three-tier system of LSGs can learn from each other—of their development practices—if there are good systems in place for transmitting the messages of the outcome. Moreover, the continuity in successful projects can be ensured if the district level planning committees identify them in time and make provisions for their continuance.
Dr V. Mathew Kurian, Hon. Joint Director, KN Raj Centre, MG University, Dr. Jos Chathukulam, Director of the Centre for Rural Management and former Ramakrishna Hegde Chair, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, Dr. Rajesh Many, Dr Vipinkumar, Dr. Mathew Varghese and others spoke at the session.
