The Hindu : Kerala News : New strategy for local development on the anvil

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 21, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

New strategy for local development on the anvil

By N. J. Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 20 . The Local Administration Department is evolving new strategies for scientific management of natural resources for enhancing agriculture production and checking reclamation of paddy fields. Local bodies will be involved in the exercise.

A model master plan for Thirurangadi Block Panchayat has been prepared by the Centre for Earth Science Studies at the behest of the Local Administration Minister, Kutty Ahmed Kutty, and with support from the Kerala Research Programme of the Centre for Development Studies (CDS).

With suitable changes, this plan can be replicated in other panchayats all over the State.

Scheme funding

Mr. Kutty has already started informal discussions with the Union Ministry for Rural Development and international agencies such as the UNDP to fund the schemes drawn up for local development, sources said.

The thrust of the long-term schemes will be on increasing agriculture productivity through scientific use of land and water harvesting practices as well as through addressing the lacunae in the decentralisation of administration, sources said. The Thirurangadi Block Panchayat was selected since the neighbourhood groups have a strong presence there. Participation of local bodies has not been affected since the panchayat has been ruled by the UDF for successive terms.

Marketing

The need for having a proper mechanism for marketing farm produce has been felt, sources said. In this context, the master plan envisages a comprehensive marketing strategy involving the neighbourhood groups.

The projects implemented under the People's Plan Campaign to augment agriculture production could yield only short-term results and hence the new model plan, sources said.

Water harvesting

According to the master plan, water harvesting practices can be made sustainable in natural resource management programmes by ensuring the stakeholders' participation in local-level development plans. By scheduling optimisation models, restrictions can be effectively imposed and water harvesting connected to local area development in a phased manner, depending on the availability of funds.

The master plan marked out the micro-level watersheds in the field and cadastral maps in seven panchayats in Thirurangadi block panchayat. This would determine the nature of interventions and activities to be carried out for protecting soil and water in the seven panchayats that come under the block panchayat. Preparation of annual and five-year plan projects based on watersheds that will help increase agricultural productivity and provide belt protection with different fodder grass and trees along the ridgelines of the highest level watersheds have also been envisaged.

The man-made compartmentalisations such as ward and panchayat for administrative purposes are not considered as boundaries of a watershed. The plan can be replicated to improve irrigation facilities and prevent saline water intrusion into paddy fields. For conserving and improving water bodies, the plan has suggested using them for fish cultivation by desilting, deepening and repairing the bunds and banks. It has also been suggested to convert, after minor repairs, quarries in a state of disuse into water bodies fit for fish cultivation.

Job opportunities

The new plan is expected to generate more employment opportunities directly through increase in agricultural productivity, and indirectly through increase in availability of raw materials.

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