4. PLANNING PERSPECTIVE

4.1 Local Governments may have a relook at the strategic vision of development, formed at the beginning of the Tenth Five Year Plan and verify whether the identified projects and schemes have succeeded in translating the vision into reality, if not, appropriate modifications need to be brought about.

4.2 The following general priorities are suggested:
(a) In the light of the experience of the recent drought in the State water conservation has assumed topmost priority in local level development. There is an urgent need to protect and rehabilitate all local water sources as well as to create new water storage and water harvesting structures including ponds, percolation tanks, check dams, sub-surface dams etc. This has to be planned for on a watershed basis.
(b) Local economic development to generate more jobs needs to be consciously attempted. It calls for focus on increasing agricultural productivity and value addition through post harvest processing. Paddy production has to be given top priority. Waste/fallow land development and fodder development also require particular attention. This can be attempted through NHGs under Kudumbashree. Successful farmers may be identified and used as resource persons for extending their farming systems methodology to other farmers.
(c) Rehabilitation of existing assets may be given priority to ensure their optimum utilization. These assets would include markets, schools, hospitals, water supply systems, minor irrigation systems where actual provision of water is there and equipment in public institutions. All local governments should focus on assets transferred to them for upgradation or rehabilitation. As these assets have been transferred to them no other fund would be available in the State budget. It is of paramount importance that the infrastructure, which the State has built up over the last several years, is not allowed to deteriorate.
(d) Also upgradation of traditional industries and promotion of micro enterprises for the poor are to be given special priority. The District Panchayats and larger Municipalities and Corporations should proactively facilitate private investment particularly for generation of jobs. They should do this by holding local investors’ meets and removing bottlenecks due to infrastructure deficiencies, procedural delays, blocks in raw material supply (wherever it is within the capability of local governments), labour problems, inadequate skills etc. Similarly these local governments should tie up with organisations like Kudumbashree, NABARD, Lead Bank, IIM Kozhikode etc., and take up focused programmes of entrepreneurship development ranging from identification of entrepreneurs, training them and providing support services for setting up units.
(e) All anti-poverty programmes should be compulsorily on the Kudumbashree mode. Providing house sites and houses to the absolutely landless has to be given high priority.
(f) As far as training programmes are concerned they should be for people below poverty line. Only those programmes which result in a self-employment venture or which have an assured job market for wage employment should be taken up. In the case of computer training courses only accredited courses as approved by Government should be chosen.
(g) All agriculture and allied sectors and water use would be planned on a watershed basis in an integrated manner. For watershed treatment, preference should be given to natural, agrostological measures and appropriate technologies like use of geo textiles. Village Panchayats should take steps to complete Panchayat Resource Mapping and set apart the funds needed for it.
(h) Only irrigation schemes, which are demand-driven and where actual provision of water is intended, should be taken up in the productive sector. Except in the case of bunds in the padasekharams of Kuttanad, including those areas notified as upper Kuttanad, Kole lands of Thrissur and Malappuram and Pokkali lands of Ernakulam and Thrissur, all other side protection works would be classified as infrastructure.
(i) Municipalities and Corporations must give priority to detailed town planning schemes that have already been sanctioned, and also give special emphasis to solid waste management, water supply, upgradation of traditional markets and slum development including rehabilitation of poramboke dwellers.

4.3 In order to avoid thin spread of resources the following guidelines are given.
(a) As far as roads are concerned the District Panchayat should first take up only the Village roads and Other District Roads (ODRs) as classified by the PWD. Only then new roads linking more than one Block Panchayat having at least eight meters width should be taken up. In Idukki, the District Panchayat can take up new roads connecting more than one Village Panchayats and roads which connect Village Panchayats with Major District Roads. However, such new roads should have a minimum length of 5 K.M. and satisfy the norms for construction of roads by District Panchayats.
(b) In the case of roads within Scheduled Caste habitats taken up under SCP or within Tribal habitats, the minimum width is relaxable to six metres if the District Planning Committee (DPC) is convinced that land is not available. Only Village Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations may undertake construction of roads of less than six metres width. Block Panchayats shall confine themselves to link roads connecting two Village Panchayats or opening up new areas, with minimum width of eight meters relaxable by DPC to six metres within SC/ST habitats and coastal areas.
(c) In the case of irrigation also the investment should be according to the provisions of the IIIrd, IVth and Vth Schedules of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Ist Schedule of the Kerala Municipality Act.
(d) Only Village Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations need undertake individual beneficiary oriented asset distribution programmes, but Block and District Panchayats can take up distribution of house sites through Village Panchayats and housing schemes for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. In the districts where special drinking water supply and Total Sanitation projects are under implementation, the District and Block Panchayats may also share the subsidy given to households and other items according to norms to be decided by the DPC. A decision may be taken by DPC on this.
(e) Block Panchayats and District Panchayats need undertake only comprehensive area development programmes with reference to habitats in Special Component Plan and promotion of Scheduled Caste development institutions like hostels.