Review of the Functioning of Working Groups in Kottathara Panchayat

D. Narayana, T D Simon, M Krishna

December 2004

Review of the Functioning of Working Groups in Kottathara Panchayat

1. Introduction

India has a long and strong tradition of parliamentary democracy. Indian democracy, however, is highly centralized with bureaucratic governance at the lower levels. But India also has a long history of decentralization. While the levels and institutions at three distinct tiers of decentralization- district, sub-district and village-, which have evolved over a long period of time across the states of India, are comparable, a sound constitutional foundation has been lacking. Many states in India have come up with their own modes of devolution of power, responsibility and resources, which were subject to changes depending on the whims and fancies of the governments at the states. The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India in April 1993 provided the foundation for a comparable democratic decentralization in the rural and urban areas across the states of India. The Constitutional Amendments made a number of things mandatory. The Amendment defined Gram Sabha as a body of community of persons registered in the electoral rolls within a village or group of villages. Each State has to constitute Local Self-Government Institutions (called Panchayats in rural areas) at the village, intermediate and district levels (except for states with less than two million population). Persons chosen by direct election shall fill all the seats in a Panchayat. Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Not less than one-third of the total number of seats to be filled in by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women. The offices of chairperson in the Panchayat shall be reserved for SC, ST and women. The duration of every Panchayat shall be five years. The legislature of a State shall endow Panchayats with such powers, as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government, with respect to: (1) The preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; and, (2) The implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice. Naturally, the question arises as to who have to prepare plans and who have to monitor implementation of the plans. In Kerala, this question was answered by forming what are called Working Groups (earlier they were called Task Forces). The Working Groups play an important role in decentralized planning. They develop the ideas discussed in the Gram Sabha into projects/ schemes, monitor their implementation, and see to their proper completion. For the success of each development project, the objectives of the project must be clearly formulated, the mode of implementation must be decided and it has to be ensured that the set goals have been achieved and benefits have reached the target population. How have the Working Groups been functioning? What has been their role in project implementation and monitoring? This paper seeks to analyze the functions and functioning of the Working Groups in Kottathara Panchayat, Wayanad and draw larger lessons for Panchayat level planning.

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2. Sources of Information

The review of the functioning of Working Groups is mainly based on interviews of Working Group members and the beneficiaries of the projects. The minutes of the meetings of Working Groups, which were held for formulating the projects and their implementation, have been examined. Documents, such as The Comprehensive Development Report of Kottathara Gram Panchayat 2002-2007, Plan Document of Kottathara Gram Panchayat Decentralised Planning 2002-2007, the document of the projects being implemented during 2003-04 in the Panchayat have been extensively referred (The sources are discussed in Appendix II). 3. The Origins of Working Groups The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1993 and the enabling legislation by the state later (Kerala Panchayat Raj Act in 1994) led to the formation of three tier- district, block and village- local self-government institutions (Panchayats) in Kerala. The first elected Panchayats under the new system came into being in 1996. The Left Democratic Front, which came to power in the middle of that year, was committed to decentralization of governance. One of the decisions taken in the very first meeting of the State Planning Board in July 1996 was to decentralize the planning process in Kerala. It was resolved that 35 to 40 percent of the plan outlay of the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) should be earmarked for projects drawn up by the various Panchayats and Municipal Councils (in urban areas). Since the Panchayats were handicapped by inadequacy of staff, and expertise to undertake the tasks involved, it was resolved to initiate a People’s Campaign to empower them.

The first phase of the Campaign sought to identify the felt needs of the people in every locality. The Gram Sabhas1 in Panchayats and ward sabhas in municipalities beginning August 1996 undertook this task. Each such assembly of the voters of a ward broke into small groups for discussion and in depth analysis of the local problems facilitated by trained resource persons. The group discussion identified problems and sought solutions for them. At the end of the meeting in a plenary session the list of problems and solutions was presented thereby creating a needs list identified by the people in each Gram Panchayat and Municipality.

The second phase of the Campaign was devoted to making an objective assessment of the development experience, resource position of the locality and to identify possibilities of development. The available secondary data was organized, rapid appraisals were undertaken, and assessment of existing government schemes were carried out. On the basis of the assessment and appraisal a comprehensive Development Report was prepared for every Panchayat and Municipality. The reports formed the basic material for 1 According to the 243rd part of Constitution Gramasabha is defined as the local body which includes all the voters in the Panchayat and functions at the village level (Isaac, Thomas T.M, 1997. Janakeeyaasoothranam: Sidhandhavum Prayogavum (Malayalam), Kerala State Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram, p.35). As the Gram Panchayats are of large size in Kerala, Gram Sabha has been constituted at the level of the ward, which generally has about 1000 voters.

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discussions at the development seminars organized in the Panchayats and Municipalities. At the end of these seminars, a list of possible development projects emerged for each of the sectors. The development seminars also selected 10 to 12 task forces.

The third phase of the campaign started with the formation of task forces. The task forces were constituted to draw up projects with quantifiable objectives, technical and financial details, organizational and monitoring specifications, and a descriptive social cost-benefit analysis. By March 1997, the task forces had developed a shelf of projects corresponding to the problems identified at the Gram Sabhas. The fourth phase was one of selecting projects within the resource limits of the LSGIs, subject to certain broad guidelines. Following which the LSGIs were to produce a plan document stating their resources, development strategy, and rationale for the choice of the projects.

The District Planning Committee (DPC) was to appraise the plan and give formal approval to it. As the DPC lacked the official machinery or expertise to make an appraisal of the local plans, Voluntary Technical Committees (VTC) were formed at the block level. It consisted mostly of retired officials and non-official experts. Certain categories of experts of line departments were also made members of VTCs. District Planning Committee would approve the local plans based on the recommendations of VTCs. The plans of Block Panchayats were to be prepared by integrating the plans of the Gram Panchayats, and finally the DPC was to consolidate the plans of the different tiers of the Panchayats and municipalities into a district plan.

4. Transformation of Working Groups The change of government from the Left Democratic Front to the United Democratic Front in 2001 brought about a modification of the task forces into ‘Working Groups’. The major differences between the task force and working group are the following:

− The chairman of the task force may be a public activist or elected representative, such as a ward member. But in the Working Group, the chairman must be a ward member.

− In the taskforce, the convenor may be a public activist. But in the Working Group, the convenor will be the most senior officer transferred from the related department to the Panchayat.

− The taskforce was required to meet at least once a year. But the Working Group must meet at least once a month.

− The major limitation of the Working Group following the transformation of the taskforce into Working Group was the shifting the duties from public activists to government officials. In the case of government officials, the field experience will be limited and the government officials having various administrative responsibilities in the office will have less time to concentrate on the functioning of the Working Groups.

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5. Members and Functions of the Working Groups The Panchayat Board selects the members of the Working Groups and generally the tenure of the Working Group is five years. The chairperson of the Working Group is one of the elected members of the Gram Panchayat. The convener of the Working Group is the senior most officer transferred from the related department to the Panchayat. The vice chairperson will be an expert in the related field. There must be at least four members in the group, including two women members, other than the chairman, vice chairman and convener. The members of the Working Group are to be drawn from NGOs, representatives from banks recommended by the District Collector, or professionals, experienced hands from agriculture and industry and SC promoters. One member from Community Development Society must be included in the group, but the number will be at least two in the case of the Working Groups of Poverty Alleviation, Women and Child Development and SC/ST Development. SC promoters have to be included in all Working Groups but in the Working Group of SC/ST Development their representation must be at least three. In the case of Working Group of SC/ST development, the chairperson has to be from SC/ST category. The chairperson of the Working Group of Women and Child Development has to be one of the elected women members.

The major functions of the WGs are the following:

− To analyse the related development sector.

− To evaluate the development activities carried out in the past years under that Working Group.

− To identify the existing problems, limitations, requisites and possibilities.

− To formulate the shared vision in related development sectors.

− To recommend the action plan for fulfilling the development vision on the basis of priorities and their criteria.

− To prepare the draft of action plan for project implementation.

− To identify the spill over projects.

− To update the development reports.

− To monitor the projects every four months.

− Carry out the other tasks assigned by the District Planning Committee or Panchayat.

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6. Formation of Working Groups and Project Formulation in Kottathara The first meeting for the formation of Working Groups was held on June 30, 2001 in Kottathara. The meeting set the overall objectives and process of implementation of the projects to be implemented during the Tenth Five Year Plan period. The meeting was attended by representatives from different segments of the society, such as People’s Representatives, former Panchayat Board Members, Anganwadi teachers, Ayalkoottam2, Prerak3/Assistant Prerak, Social Activists and others. The total number of participants in the meeting was 203. The highest number of participants was from the Ayalkoottam. The participation of women in the meeting was 24 per cent and the participation of SC and ST 3 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. It may be noted that the participation of ST was very low (the share of ST in the total population of the Panchayat was about 30 percent). A training programme was held on July 13, 2002 to form Working Groups. The participants were divided into Working Groups, with their functions clearly defined. The Working Groups formed were: (i) Agriculture, (ii) Local Development, (iii) Poverty Alleviation, (iv) SC-ST Development, (v) Women and Child Development, (vi) Health and Sanitation, and (vii) Education. One more Working Group was added, namely, Basic Infrastructure in the meeting held on July 26, 2002 and the total number of Working Groups increased to eight. After the formation of the Working Groups, different projects were formulated through detailed discussion in meetings. The details of the meetings conducted by each Working Group are shown in Table 1. Table 1

Working Groups and Meetings held from 13-07-2002 to 21-01-2003

Sl. No. Name of the Working Group Number of

members Number of

meetings held

Average number of members participating

1 Agriculture 9 7 6 2 Local Development 8 5 5 3 Poverty Alleviation 9 7 6 4 SC-ST Development 9 5 7 5 Women and Child Development 9 27 4 6 Health and Sanitation 9 4 5 7 Education 9 6 6 8 Basic Infrastructure* 10 7 7

* - Meetings of the Working Group of Basic Infrastructure began from 26.07.2002

Source: Minutes Books, Panchayat Office.

2 Ayalkoottam is Neighbour Hood Group, which is a grass root level system in Panchayati Raj. The

number in Ayalkkoottam comprises one adult woman from each poor household and the number varies from 15 to 40. Ayalkoottam is not a statutory body but functions as the supporting body to Gram Sabha.

3 Staff of Literacy Mission

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Most of the WGs had concluded their meetings by October 2002. Only one WG, namely, Women and Child Development, held meetings after October 19, 2002. The WG held ten meetings after that date and the last meeting was held on January1, 2003. The striking feature with regard to the number of participants is that, in some working groups, the number of participants in the meeting is only one (one from Local Development and four from Women and Child Development). The explanation of the WG members was that it might be due to non-recording and that not so many members were absent in any meeting.

7. The Projects Formulated by the Working Groups and Approved by the Panchayat Board A project is defined as the minute development activity, which will be capable of further analysis, planning or execution. Every project will have its own objectives, territory, and a predetermined duration within which it must be completed. Thus, a project is the smallest plan component with special objectives to be fulfilled within a specified time and place. The total number of projects included in the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) in Kottathara was 51. The number of projects of each WG is shown in Table 2. A clear-cut division of the projects is not possible because some projects fall under two separate WGs. The number of projects being implemented during 2003-04 was 1084.

Table 2. Distribution of Projects by Working Groups

Number of projects Sl. No. Working Groups Ninth Five Year

Plan

Being Implemented during

2003-04 1 Agriculture 7 11 2 Local Development 3 8 3 Poverty Alleviation 2 8 4 SC-ST Development 14 11 5 Women and Child Development 1 9 6 Health and Sanitation 1 9 7 Education 0 4 8 Basic Infrastructure 23 48

Total 51 108 Source: Panchayat Records.

4 The projects currently being implemented include 56 spill over projects. (The data given by Panchayat

Secretary shows that the total number of the projects, that are currently being implemented, is 109. But the document produced by them shows that it is only 108). The details of the projects of each Working Group are given in Appendix I.

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Type of Projects

The projects can be classified into three types according to the number of people benefiting from the project, i.e., Individual Projects, Group Projects and Public Projects. In Individual Projects, the beneficiary of the project is a single household, in Group Projects the number of beneficiaries will be more than one household and the benefits are limited to the group, whereas Public Projects benefit the community as a whole. In the Ninth Five Year Plan, 72 per cent of the total number of projects was Public Projects, followed by Individual Projects (24 per cent) and Group Projects (4 per cent). The major share of public projects was from the Working Group of Basic Infrastructure. In the case of Individual Projects, the major share came from the Working Group of SC-ST Development and the Group Projects were nominal in number, which were formulated by the WG, Local Development (See Table 3).

With regard to the projects being implemented during 2003-04, public projects still account for the major share (65 per cent) followed by individual projects (24 per cent). The share of group projects has, however, increased from four per cent during the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) period to 11 per cent in 2003-04. The major share of public projects is from the Working Group Basic Infrastructure and a large number of individual projects is from SC-ST Development group.

Table 3. Working Groups and Type of Projects

Type of Projects Ninth Five Year Plan Implemented during 2003-04 Working Groups

Individual Group Public Total Individual Group Public Total

Agriculture - - 7 (100)

7 (100)

2 (18)

1 (9)

8 (73)

11 (100)

Local Development - 2

(67) 1

(33) 3

(100) 3

(38) 4

(50) 1

(12) 8

(100) Poverty Alleviation

1 (50) - 1

(50) 2

(100) 4

(50) 4

(50) - 8 (100)

SC-ST Development

8 (57) - 6

(43) 14

(100) 9

(82) 2

(18) - 11 (100)

Women & Child Development - - 1

(100) 1

(100) - 1 (11)

8 (89)

9 (100)

Health and Sanitation - - 1

(100) 1

(100) 1

(11) - 8 (89)

9 (100)

Education - - - - - - 4 (100)

4 (100)

Basic Infrastructure

3 (13) - 20

(87) 23

(100) 7

(15) - 41 (85)

48 (100)

Total 12 (24)

2 (4)

37 (72)

51 (100)

26 (24)

12 (11)

70 (65)

108 (100)

Note: Figures in brackets are percentages Source: Panchayat Records

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Purpose of the projects

A large number of projects of the Ninth Five Year Plan and those implemented during 2003-04 are construction and repair activities. In both the periods, the number of awareness programmes is very low. The number of projects for income generating activities has increased from 12 per cent during the Ninth Five Year Plan to 24 per cent in the current plan (Table 4).

8. Three Examples of Monitoring Projects This section presents three examples of the monitoring of projects by the Working Groups followed by a general discussion of monitoring in the next section. Poverty Alleviation

Major projects under this group are related to Kudumbasree units (See Appendix I). This group also monitors some of the projects coming under the other groups, like Basic Infrastructure and Health. The projects benefiting individuals are formulated by Area Development Societies and the Panchayat Board decides public projects. A team involving the chairperson of the group monitors the stages of initiation and completion and the other members in the monitoring group are involved in the regular monitoring. Even though, ward level monitoring is also done, no regular meeting is held for this purpose.

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Table 4. Working Groups and Purpose of the Projects

Purpose

Ninth Five Year Plan Implemented during 2003-04 Working Groups Construction/

Repair Income

Generating Awareness Total Construction/Repair

Income Generating Awareness Total

Agriculture 7 (100) - - 7

(100) 6

(55) 5

(45) - 11 (100)

Local Development - 3

(100) - 3 (100) - 8

(100) - 8 (100)

Poverty Alleviation - 2

(100) - 2 (100) - 8

(100) - 8 (100)

SC-ST Development

13 (93)

1 (7) - 14

(100) 7

(64) 4

(36) - 11 (100)

Women & Child Development - - 1

(100) 1

(100) 5

(56) 1

(11) 3

(33) 9

(100) Health & Sanitation - - 1

(100) 1

(100) 6

(67) - 3 (33)

9 (100)

Education - - - - 1 (25) - 3

(75) 4

(100) Basic Infrastructure

23 (100) - - 23

(100) 48

(100) - - 48 (100)

Total 43 (84)

6 (12)

2 (4)

51 (100)

73 (68)

26 (24)

9 (8)

108 (100)

Note: Figures in brackets are percentages Source: Panchayat Records Example: Vegetable Cultivation: After the plot at the individual homestead is prepared for planting vegetable seeds, the chairperson, along with other members of the group, visits the field to have a look. The chairperson provides assistance to the project members to procure seeds, fertilizers, etc. The next visit is carried out around the time of harvesting. Thus, in all, only two field visits are carried out. Women and Child Development: Major projects of this Working Group are development of Anganwadies and empowerment of women. There are four members in the monitoring group: the convenor, chairperson and two members from the Working Group. Generally, only one field visit is being carried out for the individual projects due to the problem of distance. In the case of Anganwadies, the monitoring group regularly checks the attendance of the teachers, and gives directions to them. If they do not follow the instructions of the monitoring group, complaints are lodged with the Panchayat President. Example: Social Forestry - With the help of the Area Development Society, the project and the place of implementation were decided. The project, namely social forestry, is being implemented in leased land. In this case, the chairperson of the Working Group carried out the supervision of cleaning the site, preparing the soil and sand, and bringing planting materials. She goes to the field twice a week. The members of Kudumbasree

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participate in the day to day working of the project. Meetings are regularly conducted in a local club named Yuvatharangam to discuss the problems and progress of the project. Basic Infrastructure The major projects of this Working Group include construction works like roads, retaining walls, etc. This Working Group also monitors the projects of SGRY. In this monitoring group there are four members: chairperson, a technical person, two ordinary members from the Working Group. In the Ninth Five Year Plan period, it was the beneficiary group named Gunabhokthru Samithy, who regularly conducted monitoring of the project. They would submit a report to the monitoring group. Now, most of the ongoing projects are based on tender system. Monitoring is based on the estimate shown in the tender document. With the help of the technical person, namely the engineer if it is an infrastructure project, different phases of the work are scrutinised. The final report is submitted to the Panchayat Board. If the work is not satisfactory, 10 per cent of the amount may be withheld. Generally, two visits are made for monitoring; the first visit is made soon after the beginning of the project and the other is on completion of the project. Usually, all the projects in one area will be monitored in one trip. In some projects (for example, Karakunnu – Kallamkode tarring work and Kallidikott road side construction), there was the system that bills were passed only after the Working Group submitted the reports. It was opined that the distance and transportation cost involved are the major reasons for not increasing the number of monitoring visits. Not many members of the Working Groups come forward to participate in the monitoring. 9. Monitoring of Project Implementation by the Working Groups Each Working Group must meet at least once a month. The quorum of the meeting is four members including the convenor. The overall progress of the ongoing projects is to be discussed in the meeting.

Monitoring of Different Types of Projects

The objectives set by every project must be achieved through the implementation. The process of continuous evaluation and examination for satisfying these needs from the very beginning of the implementation to the end of the project is termed as ‘monitoring’ (KILA 20035). It is parallel to the process of implementation of the project. Monitoring is also an auxiliary endeavour of the implementing officer and implementing agency. And, monitoring is not a mere evaluation or auditing after the completion of the project.

The monitoring of the projects is carried out by a separate monitoring group of each Working Group. The monitoring group, generally, includes four members, i.e., the chairperson, expert in the field, who is also the convenor and two members from the

5 Panchayat Raj, 5 (43), 2003. p.3

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Working Group. After the approval of the project, the monitoring group goes to the project implementation site. In some projects, especially the projects related to Kudumbasree, a local monitoring group also functions as monitoring group. After the completion of the project, the monitoring group goes to the field and makes a report including the details of the success or failure of the project and submits it to the sanctioning body, i.e., Panchayat Board. (Generally, the Monitoring Group follows the system of monitoring that all the projects in an area are visited together to save time and money). Finally, it is the Panchayat Board, which approves the completion of the project. The functioning and progress of different projects are discussed in the Welfare Committee in the Panchayat, which is carried out every month.

The monitoring group through one or two field visits monitors the individual projects. The monitoring group without any special method decides the quality of the project implementation. The monitoring group communicates the mark of satisfaction to the Panchayat Board, which takes the final decision on the project. But in the case of group projects, most of the projects of which are coming under Kudumbasree, a local group, which is followed by the monitoring group of the Working Group, does the monitoring first. In the case of public projects, most of which are construction and repair activities, the works are done by the tender system and overall the expert in the field like an engineer assures quality of the project. There is a special monitoring report form especially for the tender works to be filled by the members of monitoring group. The report form is then countersigned by the Panchayat Member and submitted to the Panchayat Board.

In these three types of projects, the Panchayat Board takes the final decision. Even though there is a possibility of not approving the completion of the project as satisfactory, there was no such instance recorded in Kottathara. But the monitoring group did disallow some projects in the preliminary stage of the work, due to the dissatisfaction of the progress of the project.

The local people do not have much role in monitoring the projects, except group projects where a local monitoring group functions. This situation has arisen, probably, because the composition of Working Groups does not allow for any meaningful monitoring (see next section).

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10. Profile of Working Group Members The beginning of the financial year 2004-05 saw the formation of new Working Groups in a meeting held in May 2004. The meeting reviewed the projects of the previous year and stressed the importance of Kudumbasree projects, such as poultry, paddy cultivation etc., in alleviating poverty. The meeting discussed some specific projects, such as repair of the agricultural office, reconstruction of bridges, and cooking gas connection to the Anganwadies. More importantly, emphasis was laid on monitoring costs and benefits of projects in every WG meeting. The meeting dissolved the existing WGs and formed new WGs. Compared to the eight WGs in 2003-04, 10 WGs were formed, and compared to the eight members in each group earlier now each group has 10 members, except Watershed Management Group, which has 11 members. The Agricultural Group has been split into Watershed Management and Animal Husbandry, and a new group called Social security has been added. The reasoning behind the increased number of groups and number of members in each group seems to be to accommodate all the 10 members of the Panchayat Board as chairpersons and at least one person from each ward as member in each group, in addition to the chair persons, vice chairperson and convener. The composition of Working Group members tells some interesting stories. It is seen that 75 percent of the members belong to the 30 -49 years age group and 21 percent to the 50-65 years age group. Very young or the elderly are completely absent from the WGs. The distribution of the members by educational level shows that 85 percent of the total number of members had 10 or 12 years of education. Hardly three percent of the members had education above 12 years. Further, 80 percent of the total members are agriculturists or housewives, and about five percent are agricultural labourers. Women are not present in five of the Working Groups, and in three of the groups only one or two women are present. Only two groups, Poverty Alleviation and Women Development has eight and ten women members respectively. Overall, less than 22 percent of the members are women. Surprisingly, Health and Sanitation Group has no woman and Tribal Development one and Education two women members. In sum, few women, few with higher levels of education and few from outside the occupation of agriculture and housewives have come into the Working Groups as members. It is evident that the Working Groups lack members with the necessary skill to monitor projects. There are few with necessary education or occupational background to understand the complexity of projects.

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11. Limitations of Monitoring by the Working Groups

The Task Forces with public activists, or civil society members at the helm had a specific role of making the elected members and the officials of the line departments accountable to the people. The transformation of the Task Forces into Working Groups with elected members as chairpersons and officials as conveners took away the power to monitor projects and keep the members and officials under check. So, even before the Task Forces took roots to function as effective bodies of local governance the power had been taken away from them.

The Working Groups do not keep any record of the implementation and functioning of the projects. Many members are in a puzzled state as regards the number of projects in their own group and their role. Minutes of the meetings most often end up with entries on the number of participants and date of meeting without any details.

Local participation in monitoring is very low. In case of construction activities, the tender system does not allow the local people to deal with the quality of construction. Generally, the number of visits to the project site is limited to only two. All the projects in an area are monitored in one trip to save time, and money. In some cases, the number of visits is limited to just one.

Thus, within a short period of less than ten years certain structures instituted for better governance at the level of the local government have been transformed to become handmaidens of elected members and line departments. The failure of line departments to formulate and implement projects effectively was one of the justifications for decentralised planning. But the transformation of Task Forces into Working Groups has quietly removed one arm for such effective implementation.

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References (i) Minutes Book of Working Groups, Kottathara Gramapanchayat. (ii) Minutes Book of Working Group Agriculture, Kottathara Gramapanchayat. (iii)Minutes Book of Working Group Local Development, Kottathara Gramapanchayat. (iv) Minutes Book of Working Group Poverty Alleviation, Kottathara Gramapanchayat. (v) Minutes Book of Working Group SC-ST Development, Kottathara

Gramapanchayat. (vi) Minutes Book of Working Group Women and Child Development, Kottathara

Gramapanchayat. (vii) Minutes Book of Working Group Health and Sanitation, Kottathara

Gramapanchayat. (viii) Minutes Book of Working Group Education, Kottathara Gramapanchayat. (ix) Minutes Book of Working Group Basic Infrastructure, Kottathara Gramapanchayat. (x) Kottathra Gramapanchayat Samagra Vikasana Rekha: Vikendrikrutha Aasuthranam

– 2002-2007. (xi) Kottathara Gramapanchayat Vikendreekruthasoothranam, 2002-2007, Padhathi

Rekha. (xii) Panchayat Raj, 5 (43), 2003. (xiii) Pattikavarga Upapadhathi: Karadu Padhathi Rekha, Kottathara Gramapanchayat,

Kerala Vikasana Padhathi – 2003-04. (xiv) Thadhesabharana Sthapanangalude Patham Panchavalsara Padhathi (2002-2007),

Pattikavarga Upapadhathi (2003-2004) – Pariseelana Kurippukal, District Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram and KILA, Thrissur.

(xv) Jagajeevan N. and Ramakandhan N. (2000). Gramasabhakalum Pankalitha Janadhipathyavum, In Janakeeya Sutharyatha, Jagajeevan N., Pilla, Velayudhan A.R, Girishkumar K.G. (Eds.), Papers presented in International Conference on Democratic Decentralisation, People’s Planning Campaign, Kerala State Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram.

(xvi) Isaac, Thomas T.M (1997), Janakeeyaasoothranam: Sidhadhavum Prayogavum (Malayalam), Kerala State Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram.

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Appendix I Projects of Ninth and Tenth Five Year Plans

Table 1. Projects of Ninth Five Year Plan Sl. No. Name of Working Groups/ Projects Details Agriculture

1 Construction (Mangattuvayal irrigation canal)

2 Changing and maintanence of Cherupuzha Dam Shutter

3 Completion of Ambalakkadavu irrigation project

4 Completion of Poorvachully irrigation canal

5 Completion of Cheerakath irrigation project

6 Completion of Irrigation Project (Kallatti)

7 Pump house (Chooralmoola) Local Development

1 Expansion of Pisciculture

2 Production and distribution of tree plants

3 Land development project Poverty Alleviation

1 Development project (Vellarikanda) 2 Cattle shed construction

SC-ST Development 1 Footpath (Madakunnu colony) 2 Footpath (Kallipara colony) 3 Total House Construction Project 4 House repairing 5 House construction 6 Latrine construction 7 House expansion 8 Programmes (1999-2000) 9 Total House Construction Project

10 Roof Changing 11 Expansion of Houses 12 Footpath (Edakunnu Colony)

13 Construction of Steps(Nadakkuny Colony) SGRY

14 Footpath (Vaisyan colony) SGRY

Table 1. Projects of Ninth Five Year Plan (contd.) Sl. No. Name of Working Groups/ Projects Details Women and Child Development

1 Anganwadi Development Project Health and Sanitation

1 Students Health Development Project Basic Infrastructure

1 Road Tarring Mechana Chempakachal

2 Road Tarring Mechana Chempakachal (2)

3 Footpath (Venniyod footpath) 4 Footpath Venniyod GUP (2)

5 Construction First floor, Panchayat office

6 Construction of wall (Kolakki mottankunnu)

7 House repairing 8 House construction

9 Construction of Road (Venniyod-Pathikkal) SGRY

10 Construction of Footpath (Kalipara) SGRY

11 Construction of Footpath (Thupparimoola) SGRY

12 Construction of Footpath (Chooralmoola) SGRY

13 Footpath (Poyyil-Pudussery) SGRY 14 Road Tarring (Palappoyil) SGRY 15 Completion of 13 houses SGRY 16 Road (Veetiyery Karinjakunnu) SGRY

17 Soling and Mettaling of Road (Kalaripoyil) SGRY

18 Soling and Mettaling of Road (Edakkunnam) SGRY

19 Road (Vyppady-Arambattakunnu) SGRY 20 Footpath (Poolakolly) SGRY 21 Footpath (Pookkal field) SGRY 22 Footpath (Kuralamvally) SGRY 23 Footpath (Mooppankavu) SGRY

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Table 2. Projects of the Tenth Five Year Plan implemented during 2003-04 Sl. No Name of the Working Group/Project Details

Agriculture 1 Water Storage 2 Irrigation wells 3 Sand Development 4 Completion Irrigation Project (Cheerakath) Spill Over Project 5 Land Acquisition (Agricultural Trading Centre) Spill Over Project 6 Electrification (Veterinary Hospital) Spill Over Project 7 Repair (Agriculture Office) Spill Over Project 8 Irrigation Wells Spill Over Project 9 Agricultural Trading Centre Instead of Avoided Spill Over

10 Land Development Programme Instead of Avoided Spill Over 11 Cardamom Cultivation Instead of Avoided Spill Over

Local Development 1 Sericulture 2 Integrated Income Generating Programme 3 Project Implementation Cost 4 Expansion of Pisciculture Spill Over Project 5 Production and Distribution of Tree Plants Spill Over Project 6 Insurance (Kamadhenu) Spill Over Project 7 Sericulture Spill Over Project 8 Production of Vermicompost Spill Over Project

Poverty Alleviation 1 Kudumbasree-Vegetable Cultivation 2 Kudumbasree – Paddy cultivation 3 Vegetable Cultivation (Kudumbasree) 4 Paddy Cultivation (Kudumbasree) 5 Rabbit Rearing Spill Over Project 6 Poultry Spill Over Project 7 Goat rearing Spill Over Project 8 Cultivation of Papaya and Curry Leaves Spill Over Project

SC-ST Development 1 TSP Toilet 2 House Construction (SCP) 3 Electrification (Valiyakunnu Community Hall) 4 Cottage Industry (SCP Kudumbasree) 5 Cottage Industry (SCP Kudumbasree) 6 House Repair (SCP) Spill Over Project 7 House Construction (SCP) Spill Over Project 8 House Expansion (SCP Spill Over Project 9 Total House Construction Programme (2000-01)-TSP Spill Over Project

10 Changing of House roof (TSP) Spill Over Project 11 House Construction (SCP) Spill Over Project

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Women and Child Development

1 Nutritious food (Anganwadi) 2 Honorarium, Art Festival (Anganwadi) 3 Integrated Income Generating Programme 4 Repair (Anganwadi) 11 FCG 5 Development Programme (Anganwadi) Spill Over Project 6 Nutritious Food Programme (Anganwadi) Spill Over Project 7 Repair (Anganwadi) Spill Over Project 8 Women Complex Spill Over Project 5 Repair (Anganwadi) Instead of Avoided Spill Over

Health and Sanitation 1 Ayurveda Hospital (Mechana) 2 Total sanitation 11 FCG 3 Student Health Safeguard Programme Spill Over Project 4 Toilet Construction Spill Over Project 5 Fence Wall (PHC) Spill Over Project 6 Fence Wall (Ayurveda Hospital-Cheerakath) Spill Over Project 7 Electrification (Homeo Hospital) Spill Over Project 8 Equipments (Ayurveda Hospital) Spill Over Project 9 Sanitation (School) Spill Over Project

Education 1 Study Tour (Balasabha) 2 Study Tour (Balasabha) 3 Sarva Siksha Abhiyan Spill Over Project 4 Playground Instead of Avoided Spill Over

Basic Infrastructure 1 House Construction 2 Drinking Water Wells 3 Street Light 4 Expanding of Electricity Line (Mandhalam-Veetiyery) 5 Expanding of Electricity Line (Veetiyeri-Kunnathayi) 6 House Construction (Aged, Handicapped) 7 Road (Kurumpalakotta - Ambalam) 8 Road (Mooppankavu) 9 Road (Vaippady)

10 Road (Vandyampatta-Kollimood) 11 Road (Puzhakkamvayal) 12 Road (Poovanarikunnu) 13 Road (Jubilee) 14 Footpath (Kurissingal) 15 Road (Valal-Kuzhivayal) 16 Community Hall (Kottathara) 17 Waiting Shed (Jubilee Junction) 18 Road (Colony Kunnu) 19 House construction (Aged, Handicapped)

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20 Drinking Water 11 FCG 21 Street Light (CFL-20) 11 FCG 22 Road Tarring (Mechana-Chembakachal I) Spill Over Project 23 Road Tarring (Mechana-Chembakachal II) Spill Over Project 24 Footpath (Venniyod GUP –I) Spill Over Project 25 Footpath (Venniyod GUP-II) Spill Over Project 26 Building Construction (Panchayat Office Ist Floor) Spill Over Project 27 Road Tarring (Karakunnu-Kallamthodu) Spill Over Project 28 Footpath (Pandheerupara) Spill Over Project 29 Road Tarring (Puthenmittam) Spill Over Project 30 Soling and Metalling (Mooppankavu) Spill Over Project 31 Soling and Metalling (Kolimoodu) Spill Over Project

32 Maintenance and Sand Filling of Road Side (Palamoola-Pulimunda) Spill Over Project 33 Soling and Metalling (Footpath of Aanery-Nadukanikunnu) Spill Over Project 34 Footpath (Nadukandi) Spill Over Project 35 Maintenance and Sand Filling of Road Side (Kotathara-Kakkanchal) Spill Over Project 36 Maintenance and Sand Filling of Road Side (Jubilee Road) Spill Over Project 37 Footpath (Chelakuni) Spill Over Project 38 Maintenance of Road Side (Kallattipoyil) Spill Over Project 39 Footpath (Puthusserykadavu-Valal) Spill Over Project 40 Road (Puzhakkalidam-Kurumany) Spill Over Project 41 Footpath (Vyppady-Kallankary) Spill Over Project 42 Building Construction (Club) Spill Over Project 43 House Construction Spill Over Project 44 Total House Construction Programme Spill Over Project 45 Cultural Centre (for Aged) Spill Over Project 46 Footpath (Poolakolly) Instead of Avoided Spill Over47 Road (Nadakuny-Eeramkolly) Instead of Avoided Spill Over48 Road (Mechana-Choorimoola) Instead of Avoided Spill Over

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Appendix II: Contents of major documents referred (i) Kottathara Gramapanchayat: Samagra Vikasana Rekha – Vikendreekruthasoothranam

2002-2007 (Malayalam) – (Total Development Report of Kottathara Gramapanchayat: Decentralised Planning 2002-2007) This handbook is the modified version of Total Development Report prepared in 1996-97. It comprises details of the basic information of the Panchayat with its historic details. A separate section has been devoted for the evaluation of Ninth Five Year Plan. Each Working Group has been discussed in separate sections with the names of the members, evaluation of the Ninth Five Year Plan, the major problems faced and suggestions for the Tenth Five Year Plan.

(ii)Kottathara Gramapanchayat: Vikendreekrutha Aasoothranam 2002-2007: Padhathi Rekha (Malayalam) – Kottathara Gramapanchayat Decentralised Planning 2002-2007: Plan Details) This document is the major source of information regarding the projects. It is used as the base line in Gram Sabha meetings. It begins with the evaluation of Ninth Plan’ projects in each working group. Benefits, limitations and challenges are also discussed. The income and expenditure details of the plan are separately given. A detailed list of the completed projects, ongoing projects and future projects has been given in this book. The financing of each project in terms of share of plan funds, fund from Central Government and State Government, etc are separately shown.

(iii)Thaddheshabharanastapanangal: Patham Panchavalsara Padhathi Thayyarakkunnathinulla Margarekha (Malayalam) - (Local Government Institutions: Guidelines to Prepare Tenth Five Year Plan) - Planning Board, Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram This document is meant for planning the projects for the Tenth Five Year Plan with the help of the guidelines given. Special suggestions are given for resource utilisation. The other sections included are suggestions to divide the part of funds of 11th Finance Commission, prerequisites for the completion of the projects with members and duties of Working Groups, evaluation of the Ninth Plan, updating of development reports, updating of district plan, Gramasabha/Wardsabha meetings, strategy setting, preparation of the projects, completion of the projects of local administrative bodies, assessment of projects, technical sanction, common suggestions, system to help local governments and calendar to complete the plan.

(iv)Thaddheshaswayambharanasthapanangalude Padhathinirvahanavum Project Managementum (Malayalam) - (Plan Execution and Project Management of Local Government Institutions) – Kerala Institute for Local Administration (KILA), Mulamkunnathukavu, Thrissur, Kerala. This document is specially meant for conducting training programs by KILA to people’s representatives and officials. It includes sections on Kerala Development Project and Efficient Plan Execution, execution of plan in decentralised planning, project management and new forms, project management and local administrative bodies, standing committees and new Panchayat administrative system, preparation of execution calendar, selection of beneficiaries, finance management, construction work and monitoring