KOCHI: In a novel initiative, the Kerala Civil Society – a “non-electoral” political platform, has launched a statewide ‘Panchayati Raj’ movement to spread awareness and encourage citizens to participate in grama sabhas and thus become part of the decision-making process at the grass-root level.
“The grama sabhas are where the final list of beneficiaries of government schemes are made. Right now, however, only 30 to 40 citizens arrive for such crucial meetings in a ward having 1,000 citizens,” said John Joseph, one of the founders of the Kerala Civil Society. He was earlier associated with the Vizhinjam fishermen protest.
“The panchayat members are struggling to meet the required quorum, 10% of total voters in the ward. The sole purpose of our campaign is to enhance people’s participation in grama sabhas and make them more meaningful,” he said.
The Panchayat Raj system came into force following the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act passed in 1992. The aim was to strengthen grassroots democracy by giving constitutional status to Panchayat Raj institutions.
“However, except for the initial five years, the system is not effective due to a lack of people’s participation at the grass-root levels. Grama sabhas are mostly attended by those with political considerations and the participation of independents is negligible. This is the case with most of the 941 panchayats in the state. Hence, the campaign aims to spread awareness about the need to be part of local governance,” John pointed out.
As part of the statewide movement, a series of study camps are being organised at the district level, which will be followed by the taluk and panchayat level camps in the coming months. In fact, the first of the two-day study camps was held at the Chavara Cultural Centre in Kochi on May 18 and 19.The camp, inaugurated by former Maharaja’s College principal K Aravindakshan, saw sessions on various topics like Panchayat Raj system, current scenario of Panchayat Raj implementation’, the rights and duties of panchayats and municipalities, the administrative system of panchayats and municipalities and the various committees, and the benefits of increased people’s participation.
The sessions were led by Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) consultant P V Ramakrishnan, KILA panel faculty member P Y Anil and M P Mathai, among others.
The next district-level camp will be held at Kottayam (June 8,9) followed by the one at Thiruvananthapuram (June 16, 17). At the taluk-level, one-day awareness programmes will be held at five of the seven taluks in Ernakulam district in June.
The Kerala Civil Society, which currently has around 1,000 members, is also holding ‘Trainer’s Training’ sessions along with the study camps to enlist resource personnel to “spread the message of local governance participation” to maximum possible citizens.
“Already, 15 resource personnel have been enlisted in the first camp. We’ll hold study camps in Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Palakkad districts in the coming months. A vehicle rally will be held from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in August, followed by an All Kerala Postering Campaign as part of the initiative,” said Kerala Civil Society media coordinator Dileep Kumar.