THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that all support will be extended to the local bodies which prepare projects keeping in mind the next Five Year Plan rather than going for annual programmes. Inaugurating the Kerala Local Government Service Delivery Project (KLGSDP) of the Local Self-Government Department here on Wednesday, Chandy said that around `1,200 crore would be distributed to the local bodies under the project.The people of the state are expecting more from the panchayats and municipalities as they are given more powers now, he said. ‘’The local bodies are not able to come up to the mark owing to financial constraints. But now, the new project will help them implement new programmes,’’ he said. The fund allotted should be utilised properly. There should be a sea change in the functioning of the three-tier system in the state, Chandy said.Panchayat and Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer, who presided over the function, said that steps had been taken to monitor the functioning of the local bodies on a weekly basis. Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) and Information Kerala Mission (IKM) will be included in the KLGSDP so that the monitoring could be strengthened, he said. The distribution of performance grant to the local bodies is expected to start within 10 days. The total fund will be disbursed equally to all the panchayats and municipalities in four years. Rural Development Minister K C Joseph, Local Administration Secretary Rajeshkumar Singh, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor K Chandrika, grama panchayat association president P T Mathew, secretary Soopy Narikkatteri, Municipal chairmen, chamber chairman Jamal Manakkadan, general secretary Ishak Kurikkal and KLGSDP project director Ajith Kumar spoke.
Comments
0 comment