From building on its current initiatives in local governance to implementation of specific projects in view of the impact of climate change, the policy address by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan in the Kerala Assembly on Thursday lays the road map for the Local Self-Government department in the upcoming year.
The government plans to expand the operations and efficacy of K-Smart, launched recently for delivery of services digitally to the public, into the planning, project management and accounting space of local governments.
It will also implement the urban observatory for advanced input-based and responsive decision-making for the efficient working of all important urban facilities and services. The project to convert Kerala into the first fully digitally literate State of the country through a campaign on the lines of the total literacy campaign is set to be completed this year.
Climate-adaptive governance
The department will develop a model paradigm of climate-adaptive governance at the local level using Disaster Climate Action Tracker (DCAT) and Local Action Plans for Climate Change Adaptation (LAPCC) mechanisms. The social audit society for MGNREGS will be transformed into the Kerala society for social audit and its operations expanded in the local governance space.
Waste management
The policy address also proposes to undertake the second-generation interventions needed to maintain a zero-waste State. These will include ensuring high-quality infrastructure, introducing blockchain-based traceability and digital systems for waste management to close leakages, setting up municipal bio-waste plants on scale and advancing the Extended Producer Responsibility Framework. About 250 producers, importers and brand owners have already been brought under the purview of Extended Producer Responsibility under the Plastic Waste Management Rules through the efforts of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board.
A strong sustainable policy framework will be put in place for waste management. Specific policy directions include scrap policy, pig farms policy and private partnership framework to enhance capability in waste management and promote green businesses.
