THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Panchayats in the district are becoming more tech savvy in terms of making annual plans. Getting digitised data about people and land is crucial to make informed planning. In all possibility Nedumangad block panchayat will become the first geoinformatics block panchayat in the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is likely to make the declaration soon.
Five panchayats in the block- Aruvikkara, Anad, Panavoor, Vembayam and Karakulam - have digitised the records after an exhaustive survey. Aruvikara has taken the lead and has already made the declaration. A Sampath, MP made the declaration last week. A digital map of the panchayats have been created with details of land and people. Grameena Patana Kendram in Eanikkara prepared the software and conducted the survey. “A team consisting of 60 surveyed 65,000 buildings and 1.65 lakh people. The survey took almost 8 months to complete,” said coordinator, Grameena Patana Kendram, V Sreekantan.
The information collected include family details, land use, ground water level etc. According to Sreekantan, the information can be utilised by the panchayat in making policies and its effective implementation. Areas with low water table can be given focus during drought preparedness. Similarly health policies can be drawn up based on the demographic information.
The information collected will be available to panchayat officials in their local network. Training sessions will be held for officials so that they are able to use the data effectively.
Considering the sensitivity of data, public access to it has been limited.“We had a tough time in collecting information from the public. Despite being highly educated people are reluctant to share information,” Sreekantan said. According to him, the survey should be conducted every five year for updating the database.
Grameena Patana Kendram did the survey for Manickal Grama Panchayat, which was declared the first geoinformatics panchayat in the state last year.
Grameena Patana Kendram
The Kendram, established in 1998 is involved in the collection, research and dissemination of appropriate rural technology, providing the necessary technical input and consultancy support for People’s Planning Initiatives and there implementation and monitoring.
It works as a rural resource centre for information technology, human resources development in information technology and rural technology.