Kerala Database

Village Level Data for Planning

P.M. Joseph & Jose Chathukulam

1.0. Introduction

India is one of the developing countries having a relatively well-developed database. Data regarding population, production and productivity in different sectors are available at national as well as State and district levels. Based on these statistics, national and state plans are being prepared. Up to early nineties, statistics were collected at grass root level and compiled at district level for usage at the district, State and national levels. But the 73rd and 74th Amendment to the Constitution has entrusted the Local Self Government Institutions with the responsibility of preparation of plans for economic development and social justice at Panchayat level. This has given rise to the necessity of collection and processing of data at the village level. Several attempts have been made since for the collection of data at Panchayat level, and even at ward level. During the last two Censuses, much information was collected on panchayat and ward basis.

But even before the 73rd Amendment, Panchayati Raj institutions have been functioning in Kerala as local units of governance. Quite different from other states, the Village Panchayats in Kerala, though not entrusted with many powers, were having a well-settled establishment. They maintain a number of registers. In addition to this, Panchayat level units of different state Departments started during the 1980s. Krishibhavan, Village office, Veterinary Dispensaries, P.H. Centers, Anganwady etc., are some of these institutions. Though these institutions were not directly engaged in planning, state plans have been implemented though these institutions, and in order to facilitate smooth implementation of plans, these establishments have been collecting data regarding their concerned service areas. These data can be utilized for the preparation of plans at the Panchayat level.

2.0. Data Sources

The following account will give an overall picture of the extent and diversity of data available at Panchayat level:

2.1. Census Reports.

From the Census reports of 1991 and 2001 following details are available.

Demographic particulars including sex wise population, number of children below 6 years, literacy rate, SC/ST population, SC/ST literacy rate etc.

Sex wise details of main workers, marginal workers and Industry wise distribution of main workers.

2.2. Basic Data Register of Agriculture Offices.

Details of Land utilization and hecterwise details of crops cultivated, production and productivity of different crops are available from this register.

2.3. Village Office Registers.

Though the geographical area of the revenue village and Panchayat are different, details of land, land distribution etc, can be collected from the Settlement Registers, Basic Tax register, and from the 10 temporary registers. Details of revenue wasteland may be collected from Register No.1; Details of trees in these lands from Register No.2, and details of plantations in the village area may be collected from Register No.3. The details concerning a particular Panchayat will have to be collected from more than one village and then compiled for obtaining these data on Panchayat basis.

2.4. Panchayat Office.

A variety of data are available from the register kept in the Panchayat office itself.

Type of house (concrete, tiled, hut) and tax assessed for each building are available from the Building Tax Assessment Register.

The details of govt. and semi govt. institutions, the number of employees in these institutions and their income are available from the Profession Tax Assessment Register.

The length of ward wise Katcha Road, Pucca Road, Mettaled and Black topped village roads may be obtained from the Road Register.

The ward wise number and names of rivers and rivulets in the Panchayat, their length and width are available from the Miner Irrigation Register.

Details of 'Purampoku' land are available from the Purampoku Register and the accuracy of this may be examined by comparing the same with the revenue office records.

Number of Deaths and Births may be collected from the Birth and Death register. This data also can be crosschecked with the same data available from the P.H.C's and anganvadi's.

Details of shops and SSI units are available in the D&O Register. The details of shops are available from the traders list also.

The number of streetlights and location are available from the street light register and details of water taps from the water tap register.

2.5. Veterinary Hospitals

Quinquinial Livestock Census details are available from the Veterinary Hospitals and even ward wise details of Livestock are available from this register. Number of milch animals and their type also are available. From these details rough estimation of meat, egg and milk production can be made.

2.6. P.H. centers & Family Welfare Centers

The details regarding type of house, drinking water facilities, electrification, sanitation facilities, occupation, income, educational and marital status of each member of the family, etc., are available in the Family Health Register kept in the FWC's.

The details of eligible couples may be collected from eligible couple register. The details of birth, death and age wise number of children are available in the Antenatal and Infant Register kept in the FWC's. These details are available from the registers kept in the Anganwadi's also.

2.7. Education Department.

Standard wise number of pupils (including sex and SC/ST wise details) enrolment rate, number of dropouts, details of marks secured by pupils etc. are available either from the schools or from the education offices. At present, age wise and sex wise details of children below 14 years also have been collected by the Education Department in connection with the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan program.

2.8. Electricity Office.

Number of streetlights may be collected from the street light connection register also. Details of electrification of houses are available in the Taluk Civil Supplies office also.

2.9. Rural Development Department.

Ward-wise number of BPL families, their occupation, income, type of houses, availability of sanitary latrines, details regarding electrification and details of family members having vocational training etc., are available from the IRDP Survey Report. These data cannot be considered as fully accurate. But the planners can use these data after checking its accuracy. Local planners are local people and it is easy for them to assess the reliability of these data.

3.0. The Richness of Data

From the above detailed data sources it is very clear that details of crop wise agricultural production and productivity are available at Panchayat level. The details of SSI units, type of unit and the number of employees are available from the Industries Extension Officer. Data regarding production of milk, meat and egg also are available.

Details of workers and non-workers are also available from the census reports. The minimum wages existing in different sectors in the different parts of the state are available from the Labour Department.

On processing and compiling all these data, a clear picture regarding the economic activities going on in the Panchayat will be obtained. The status of the Panchayat in the field of health including death rate, birth rate and life expectancy are available from the data kept in PHC's and Anganwadi's and education profile of the Panchayat can be obtained from the data collected from schools. From these data, and Income index, a Health index and an Educational index may be prepared for each Panchayat. On combining all these three indexes, even a Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender Development Index (GDI) of each Panchayat also can be prepared using the same methodology used by the UNDP. Based on, mainly, secondary data available a Human Development Index and Gender Development Index of all the 50 Panchayat's of Idukki District was earlier prepared by the Centre for Rural Management and each Panchayat was ranked based on this.

4.0. The Imperative

In addition to HDI and GDI, Panchayat Infrastructure Development Index can be prepared using the data available regarding Panchayat roads, electricity connections, telephone connections etc. So also, an Income Index of the Panchayat may be prepared based on the own resources of the Panchayat and compiling all these five indexes a Panchayat Development Index (PDI) also can be prepared. This will help in the preparation of annual plans and five year plans of the Panchayat. But there is one precondition, i.e., the local planners are to be made data conscious. The present reality is that the local planners are not bothered about data since they, in reality, prepare only projects and not plans. Hence, the first step to be taken for the advancement of decentralized local planning, is to impart a sense of data to the local planners. Then only will they recognize the importance of data accessible from their own local area and make efforts to gather them.