2. OBJECTIVES

2.1 The core objectives of the remaining period of the Tenth Five Year Plan would continue to be:-
(1) Promote local economic development by increasing production and productivity of agriculture and allied sectors and the traditional and small-scale industries with focus on employment generation and poverty reduction.
(2) Move towards greater social justice and reduction in gender disparities.
(3) Focus on Natural Resource Management and integrated area development.
(4) Upgrade the quality of basic services provided by the local governments with special emphasis on health, education, water supply, sanitation including solid waste management and care of the disabled.
(5) Improve governance particularly with reference to responsiveness, transparency, people’s participation and management.
(6) Achieve improved efficiency of resource use.

2.2 In the process of realizing these objectives the local governments are expected to play a proactive catalytic role by inducing synergies between various stakeholders in local development and enabling solutions to emerge through self-help and joint community action with public funds being spent only for the most critical purposes. Thus the Plan has to be much larger than the investment of public resources and much wider than the activity of local governments alone.