People's participation in planning: Kerala experiment

The real import of Article 243-G of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, which defines the powers, authority and responsibilities of the panchayats, has not been appreciated in most states in India. Little effort has been made to involve the mass of the people in the planning process or in the setting of plan priorities. The Kerala model of a people's campaign for decentralised planning aims to resolve this issue. This article looks at what has been achieved, how the movement can be sustained, and what type of institutional framework should be in place to carry on a planning process involving popular participation.