Kerala: The Enabling Environment for Participation

Since the 1990s, central, state and local
governments have shared responsibility for
local government in India. In 1994, an
amendment to the Indian Constitution
sought to expand democratic decisionmaking
in cities. In Kerala this was
heralded as a call to action, prompting the
state to pioneer a different way of planning
and working with its people. Kerala’s
commitment has been financial as well as
political.
Building on national policy, the state
government empowered local self
government institutions through the transfer
of resources and administrative powers in
local planning and service delivery. These
local institutions support the
implementation of the People’s Planning
programme. This is a dynamic and
innovative participatory approach to local
planning in which development
programmes are identified and
implemented at the ward level by local
people, and funded through an allocated
People’s Planning budget. The state has
also set up Urban Poverty Alleviation
Departments for implementing poverty
alleviation programmes.
In addition to these initiatives, the Kerala
State government has placed particular
emphasis on the needs and rights of poor
women. It has built up a state-wide network
of women-only led Community
Development Societies (CDS). CDS’s work to
eradicate absolute poverty through
organising poor women into
Neighbourhood groups at the grassroots
level and Area Development Societies at the
ward level. It is supporting them to identify
and address their problems through a
combination of self help programmes, and
securing funds and support from local
government. The local bodies set aside 2%
of their revenue income for poverty
alleviation programmes. The membership
criteria is based on the Allepey Index of
Vulnerability, which includes a variety of
indicators of poverty and vulnerability, such
as access to housing, water and sanitation,
income, literacy and food availability.
The World Urban Forum held by the United Nations HABITAT
in May 2002 argued that sustainable urbanisation is
multi-dimensional, requiring the economic, environmental, social
and political sustainability of towns and cities. But what does this
mean in practice?
The Cochin Urban Poverty Reduction Project in southern India
illustrates how securing a sustainable future for all citizens
necessitates working with existing institutions and political
systems at city, state and national levels. Unless institutional and
political support is enlisted from the outset, the goal of equitable
treatment for the poor remains in doubt.
SUSTAINABLE
CITIES: MAKING
THE POOR MATTER
IN COCHIN CITY
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