Social Sciences

Two day seminar on ?Democratic decentralization in Kerala'

Two day seminar on 'Democratic decentralization in Kerala: Prospects and challenges' 17th &18th November 2012 Conference Hall, Santhigiri, Pothencode, Thiruvananthapuram

Santhigiri Social Research Institute (SSRI), Thiruvananthapuram

Context

Democratic decentralization has been placed as one of the indispensible elements in the development discourses on Kerala. The Local Self Governments (LSGs) have largely intervened in development activities during the last one and half decades. Presently the LSGs in Kerala are entering into the meticulous process of formation of their twelfth five year plan (2012-2017), by analyzing the experiences of the past. This context underscores the relevance of a stock taking on the experiences and impacts of local planning and democratic decentralization in the state. The analysis of impacts in terms of the programmes targeting the poor, and on the aspects of creation and maintenance of public goods are relevant in this juncture. A retrospective view of the past experiences would certainly suggest reforms in different dimensions to move ahead with the democratic decentralization project. The reforms in the areas of institutional frame works, intergovernmental relations, financial transfer, and capacity building are pertinent in this regard.

The activities focused on the poor families and other beneficiaries such as housing, household sanitation, and drinking water supply etc is some of the major areas of intervention of local bodies. Though there are disputes over the extent of impact, areas like development of public goods such as roads, and the basic facilities of the transferred public institutions has witnessed

massive changes. But the performance of the LSGs in the productive sectors such as agriculture and small scale industry is not well appreciated. Though the LSGs were able to enhance the infrastructure facilities of transferred institutions, their initiatives to improve the quality of services delivered through such institutions are quite limited. The special component plans (SCP)

such as Women Component Plan (SCP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) could not attain its goals. Special plans in practice largely failed to address the basic reasons of their marginality and specific needs of each marginalized groups to whom these has been targeted. The political empowerment of the marginalized groups through the grass roots democratic process is also under question.

The experiences of local planning in Kerala call for institutional reforms in different dimensions. The inadequacies of the existing Acts, rules and regulations in dealing with the changing requirements of local governments are relevant points for discussion. The attempts for the reformulation of different macro and micro level institutions created to support the decentralisation process demands serious debates. The changes required in the aspects of intergovernmental relations in the context of decentralization, and the institutional reforms needed for the better capacity building process of the local bodies is also a matter for deliberations. The role and prospects of the local planning and grass roots democracy in the construction of a just, equitable and sustainable society, in the light of increasing in equalities, environmental degradations and in discriminatory use of natural resources is a pertinent point of inquiry in this context.

Themes to be discussed

Theme 1: Analysis of one and half decades experiences on local planning and democratic decentralization focused on the following sub themes;

? Impact of decentralization on poor and marginalized groups

? Performance of LSGs on different development sectors (Housing, Provisioning of drinking water and health facilities, Empowerment of fisher folk, and Natural resource management)

? Grass roots institutions, Citizen's participation and Civil society interventions

Theme 2: Deliberations for further reforms on the backdrop of past experiences focusing on the following areas

? Financial reforms and the governance of Centrally sponsored schemes

? Institutional and planning reforms

Inaugural session

Presidential address: K.M. Chandrasekhar IAS (Retd), (Vice Chairman, Kerala State Planning Board)

Inaguration: Dr. M.K.Muneer (Hon'ble Minister for Panchayats and Social welfare, Kerala)

Key note address: Dr. T.M.Thomas Isaac MLA Seminar presentations

Theme 1 : Impact of decentralization on poor and marginalized groups

1) Impact of decentralization on poor (Prof. K. N. Nair, Vice Chairman, Santhigiri Research Foundation, Pothencode, Thiruvananthapuram)

2) Gender budgeting initiatives through Women Component Plan in Kerala (Dr.P. Leelakumari, Faculty, Institute of Management in Government, Thiruvananthapuram)

3) Democratic decentralization and the socio economic profile of scheduled caste in Kerala (O. J.John, Consultant KILA on SC survey)

4) Panchayati Raj and Little Republics for ST people in Kerala (T. MadavaMenon, Senior Fellow, International school of Dravidian Linguistics, Thiruvananthapuram)

Theme 2: Performance of LSGs on different development sectors

5) Private affluence and widening social inequality: The case of housing sector under decentralized planning in Kerala (Dr. G. Gopikuttan, Fellow, Santhigiri Social Research Institute (SSRI), Pothencode, Thiruvananthapuram)

6) Drinking water and panchayats: A study based on a few Gram Panchayats in Kasargod district (Prof. T.P. Sreedharan)

7) Natural resource management and micro level Planning: Setting Kerala's future development agenda (Dr. Sreekumar Chadhopadhyaya, Scientist, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram)

8) Spacing the fisher folk in Local governance: An unfinished agenda (Dr. J.B.Rajan, Assistant Professor, KILA & Haribabu. T.P)

9) Decentralization and Health Care in Kerala (Dr.C.S. Krishnakumar, Visiting Fellow, SSRI, Pothencode, Thiruvananthapuram)

Theme 3: Grass roots institutions, Citizen's participation and Civil society interventions

10) Role of micro organizations in Local governance: The lost potential of Kerala (T. Gangadharan,

Secretary, All India People's Science Network)

11) Civil society interventions and the democratization of the grass roots (Rajesh.K, Visiting Fellow, SSRI, Thiruvananthapuram)

12) Social Audit of MNREGS: Issues and concerns (Dr. Abey George, Assistant Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)

Theme 4: Financial reforms and the Governance of Centrally sponsored schemes

13) Deluge of funds and the Neglect of core functions: The story of Local governments in Kerala (Prof. D. Narayana, Director Gulathi Institute of Finance and Taxation, Thiruvananthapuram)

14) Governance issues of centrally sponsored schemes: Some observations from Kerala (Dr. Jose Chathukulam, Director, Centre for Rural Management, Kottayam)

Theme 5: Institutional and planning reforms

15) Redefining the participatory planning in Kerala (Dr. K. N. Harilal, Associate Professor, Centre for Development Studies), Thiruvananthapuram

16) Local autonomy and Institutional design: Hurdles and ways ahead (Babu Jacob IAS (Retd), Honorary Chief Fellow, SSRI, Thiruvananthapuram)

17) Decentralization and Capacity Development in Kerala: An alternative approach and strategy (Prof. N. Remakantan, Former Director, KILA, Thrissur)

18) Participatory Democracy and Decentralized Planning: Learnings from People's Planning in Kerala (Dr. M.P. Parameswaran, Integrated Rural Technology Centre, Palakkad).

About Organisation

Santhigiri Research Foundation is a research organisation of Santhigiri Ashram. Santhigiri Ashram founded by Navajyothi Sree Karunakara Guru in 1968. Guru immersed in the inquiries for developing a sustainably peaceful world order through spiritual experiences. Santhigiri Research Foundation (SRF) was established in 2007 as a means to generate and impart comprehensive vision for a sustainably peaceful society by undertaking researches covering the spiritual and material planes of human life. At

present three institutions are working under the umbrella of SRF. They are:

1. Santhigiri Scientific and Industrial Research Institute (SSIRI).

2. Navajyothi Karunakara Guru Research Centre for Ayurveda and Sidha (NKGRCAS).

3. Santhigiri Social Research Institute (SSRI).

The major area of research at SSRI:

Spirituality, culture and human well being Environmental studies Agriculture, allied sectors, and food security Institutions and governance Human development (Health & Education) Poverty, inequality and marginalization

We invite you with great pleasure to participate in the seminar and enrich our discussions. Prof. (Dr) K. Narayanan Nair

Vice-Chairman, Santhigiri Research Foundation

Dr. K. Gopinathan Pillai

Fellow & Coordinator, SSRI

For seminar registration and further details:

Rajesh K (Visiting Fellow, SSRI) (Mob) 09497065402.

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Malish C M (Visiting Fellow, SSRI) (Mob) 9847880125.

Email:[email protected]

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Social Sciences