From micro-plans to address issues faced by the destitute to major projects for waste management, the policy address by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan in the Kerala Assembly on Friday chalks out a slew of responsibilities for the Local Self-Government department in the upcoming year.
Acknowledging that the department and the local bodies have been in the vanguard of many of the initiatives of the State, Mr. Khan said they have been also leading from the front in COVID-19 and disaster management. In the survey conducted as part of the government’s programme to alleviate acute poverty, 73,555 of the poorest of the poor have been identified, for whom family-based customised micro-plans will be developed in order to bring them out of destitution and distress. One of the novel initiatives announced was the ‘One Local Self-Government One Product (OLOP)‘ in collaboration with the Industries and Co-operation departments, and foregrounding the Kudumbashree new-generation entrepreneurial ventures. The Integrated Local Government Management System (ILGMS), which was launched on a pilot basis in some local bodies to provide access for the public to more than 200 services through its online platform, will be scaled up to all grama panchayats this year. Through concerted sanitation activities and scientific management of solid and liquid waste, 400 LSGs are expected to attain ODF-plus status by 2023. The department also plans to launch an IT-enabled waste management system across the State. At least 20 urban local bodies are expected to attain garbage-free status in 2022. The local bodies are set to get a major share of resources for waste management through the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project supported by the World Bank as part of a ₹2,500 crore project. A Statewide community-led clean aquifer campaign titled ‘Thelineer ozhukum nava keralam’ for the mapping and protection of all major water bodies in the State will be undertaken. Under the LIFE housing project, 1 lakh houses and 30 housing complexes using pre-fabricated technology will be constructed in the next financial year. As much as 1,050 lakh person-days of wage employment will be generated through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNRES) and Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Schemes.
The government also plans to develop at least one playground in every panchayat and urban local body as part of collaborative efforts of the Sports Department and the LSGD. Local body Sports Councils are all set to be formed in every LSG in the current year.
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