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GOVERNMENT
POLICY INTIATIVES
The GOK classifies
Water Supply Projects under social service sector Government has
included water supply under infrastructure category. The implications
of this policy shift are
Attracting more
investments
Private and
foreign institutional capital flows
Improvement
in quality, privacy etc.
During 1999-2000,
the size of the annual budget of GOK was Rs. 32,500 million out
of which Rs. 2,202 is the share of the service sector. On an average
Kerala has been earmarking 5% of the annual budget for implementing
rural water supply and sanitation programmes.
Panchayati
Raj Institutions
The historic
73rd constitutional Amendment Act 1992 which came into being on
April 20, 1993, was intended to improve participation of people
in the process of development and to transform Panchayati Raj institutions
into institutions of self government for rural areas. The PRIs are
provided with new opportunities for planning based on local needs
and priorities, empowerment of women, SC/ST development, mobilization
of local resources, generation of demand for services, participation
of women in decision making etc. The Kerala Legislature in follow
-up to the 73rd amendment enacted the Kerala Panchayati Raj Act
in 1994 which provides for a three tier Panchayati Raj system in
the state. The panchayati Ra| Institutions are Grama (village) panchayat,
block panchayat and district panchayat. The basic unit of panchayati
Raj system in Kerala as stipulated by the Kerala Act is a general
body of all persons registered as voters in each of the wards (constituency)
of a Grama panchayat termed as "Gramasabha" (village Assembly).
The Gramasabha is a fundamental participatory unit of PRI in Kerala,
constituted at the ward level and there are a total of 13.259 wards.
There are 991 Grama panchayats with an average population of 21,600.
152 Block panchayats with an average population of 1.80.900 and
14 District Panchayats with a population of 15.24.000.
The decentralised
planing in Kerala evolved a paradigm shift in resources mobilisation
to meet the development requirements at the Panchayat level rather
than solely depending upon grand-in-aid. The local bodies began
to tap additional local resources. This have been achieved by integrating
state and centrally sponsored schemes into the local plans, the
non-plan surplus from the locally available funds of the GPs and
through additionally mobilising local funds from financial institutions,
voluntary labour and material contributions from the public and
local beneficiaries. During 1996-'99, the Grama Panchayats in Kerala
have drawn up development plans to the tune of 9,998.9 million.
There were 6.402 water supply and sanitation schemes with a total
outlay of Rs 968.1 million. The share of grand- in-aid was only
49.27% of the outlay.
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