Planning for the people

The late E.M.S. Namboodiripad8217;s idea of giving people the power that wasrightfully theirs seemed unbelievable. Putting crores at the disposal ofpanchayats to spend on projects they would choose was unheard of. No morebabus telling them whether they could have new houses or not. No moreministers constructing roads through routes they deemed fit. Now, the peoplewould decide what they needed and where they needed it. They could even doaway with contractors if they wanted to take up projects on their own.Naturally, the thought shook many in positions of power.

Less than four years later, the Kerala State Planning Board, which has beenat the forefront of implementing the People8217;s Plan, has been able toshowcase around 250 of the state8217;s 1,000-odd panchayats at the InternationalConference for Democratic Decentralisation held in Thiruvananthapuram lastweek. Over 3,000 delegates from India and abroad who attended the conferencelauded the Kerala model for the way it devolves power to the people, for thefreedom it gives local bodies, for people8217;s involvement, as well as theprovisions for transparency in transactions at all levels.

In the last three years, panchayats have built roads, houses, bridges andeven micro-hydel projects, dug wells, set up training institutes andmicro-credit units, subsidised agriculture, given grants to self-help groupsand promoted cottage industries.

Success stories abound. At Ulloor gram panchayat an area where most womenwere unemployed or capable only of unskilled labour they set up aself-help group to which everyone contributes a certain sum every month. Inthree years, the group has assets totalling over Rs 55 lakh in the bank.Funds from this are given to members who can use it to thatch their houses,buy medicines or books for their children.

Eric Olin Wright, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin inMadison, who attended the conference, says he was 8220;enormously impressedwith the flexibility of imagination8221; that went into the Plan8217;s making.8220;What I found most interesting was the active, bottom-up participationcombined with technical expertise. The plan was not set into motion as afinished blueprint, it has continually evolved. It is exceptionally unusualto have as much creativity along the way,8221; Wright says.

The panchayats had only one simple rule to follow. A minimum of 40 per centof the funds were used for agriculture, fisheries, small industries etc.,and not more than 30 per cent for construction of any kind. The rest was foreducation, medical facilities, etc. At least 10 per cent of the total had tobe earmarked for women8217;s schemes.

Kunnathukal gram panchayat has formed a 8220;Labour Army8221; and managed toincrease rural labourers8217; income by providing more days of employment aswell as farmers8217; income by reducing production and labour costs.

Thiruvananthapuram8217;s district panchayat, with its excellent housing record,has managed to raise loans from HUDCO to construct another 30,000 houses. Asinstitutional investment begins to flow in, the panchayats can be lessdependent on plan funds alone. And these are just three of over 200exemplary panchayats.

However, it8217;s not time to do much back-slapping just yet. KSPB member andone of the chief architects of the Plan, Dr T.M. Thomas Isaac candidlyadmits: 8220;It has not been uniformly successful across the state. We have along way to go.8221;

Sources say about 40 per cent are trying but haven8217;t been able to do muchand another 20 per cent have achieved practically nothing. But as Dr Isaacpoints out: 8220;At least people finally have an alternative. We hope thatpanchayats which haven8217;t done well will be inspired by others who havepresented their achievements at this conference.8221;

Critics, however, say the Plan is just the LDF8217;s way of promoting itself.8220;The conference itself was an all-Marxist affair,8221; said a BJP panchayatmember from Pathanamthitta district, requesting anonymity. 8220;The Plan, onpaper, is perfect. It provides for 40 per cent of the outlay to be used inproductive activities. But production hasn8217;t increased because people takecash subsidies and squander it. Grants should be replaced with long-term,low-interest loans,8221; he suggests.

Dr Isaac agrees there is some misuse but counters that this has gone down.8220;There is a higher level of transparency at the village level. When peoplemisuse their grants, others will object to them being given grants in thefuture. There is pressure from below to perform. It can8217;t be ignored.8221;

There are other complaints too: That funds for agriculture come much afterthe planting period. That unemployment benefits given by panchayat labourbanks are fostering laziness and allow petty trade union politics to thrive.Corruption and misuse of funds are obstructing the Plan8217;s success.

8220;Yes, between 25 and 30 per cent of our panchayats do face corruption. Butthis is offset by an equal number which have virtually stopped all kinds offund leakage. The spirit is there,8221; Dr Isaac points out.

The conference, per se, also came in for flak for its timing. Panchayatelections are just over three months away and Assembly elections are to beheld in less than a year. 8220;This is one way of keeping the conscience of thecampaign and do some consensus building. Non-performing panchayats will knowthey are expected to do more and will have to pay the price for this in theelections,8221; Dr Isaac explains.

Moreover, the Opposition in the state, while often labelling the exercise apolitical gimmick, has never actively opposed it. Leader of the OppositionA.K. Antony was even present at the Plan8217;s inauguration, indicating that theOpposition was approaching the Plan in a positive manner. 8220;Though there isrivalry between members of various parties, everybody works together when itcomes to development work,8221; says S. Geetha, a Congress S member ofKarakulam Panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district. The Plan also got ravereviews from a World Bank team which visited Kerala in January, 1999, whichsaid the achievements of the decentralisation process were remarkable.

As for the future, Dr I.S. Gulati, Vice Chairman of the KSPB acknowledgesthat institutionalising decentralisation is a must if the campaign is to besustained. 8220;We need new technology for effective monitoring mechanisms.This will ensure that all data is available to the public without delay,making the whole process more transparent.8221;

Says Dr Isaac, We8217;ve started late, but we8217;ve gone far ahead of otherstates. It8217;s simple: when people start asking questions, democracy begins tofunction.8221;

Suma Ramachandran was a guest of the Institute of Social Sciences andthe Kerala State Planning Board.