Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: An exciting revolutionary process is taking
place in 56 Panchayats in Kundapur Taluk: for
the first time, a participatory planning process
has involved local populations, including
children, in important local governance
decisions.
Children have led the way in the development of five-year plans for the
first time. In a democratic process that is leading a silent revolution in 56
Panchayats of the Kundapur taluk, children along with Panchayat members
are inputing into the 2002-2007 five-year plans, which will lay the
foundation for the Taluk, District and State government plans, and enable
Gram Panchayats to exercise more control over the long-term
developmental and infrastructural objectives of the Panchayats.
(The Gram Panchayat is the lowest level of administration in the system of
local government. The term Panchayat refers to both the geographical and
administrative units, as well as the elected body, which acts as the local
council. A Panchayat is composed of a cluster of villages and several
Panchayats constitute a Taluk.)
Children have been able to actively participate in the development of the
plans through a series of Ward Sabhas or meetings, leading ultimately to
their approval by the Gram Sabha (Gram Sabha is a biannual meeting of all
the voters of the Panchayat. It can be a platform for the residents to voice
their problems, question and commend their elected representatives and
officials of various government departments responsible for the welfare of
the Panchayat).
The attempt at participatory governance has covered a total of 3.8 lakh (=
380,000) people (Census 2001) of which about 1.6 lakh (160,000) are
children. Of them, about 20,000 children and adults have actively
participated in providing information, in discussions and in Gram Sabha
meetings. The experiment has ushered in the beginnings of a new political
order, which is the first of its kind in the country.
What makes this experiment revolutionary is that it has made the
participation of civil society, especially of children in governance a reality.
This process has made the government truly accountable to children and
ushers in a child-led and child-centered planning process that may be
replicated in all the Panchayats of the country.
For a detailed publication of the process (available both in Kannada and
English) contact The Concerned for Working Children.pdf: www.workingchild.org