The Hindu Business Line : Kerala okays ADB-assisted service delivery project

THE State Government has approved the `service delivery project' forming part of the Asian Development Bank-assisted Modernising Government Programme (MGP) and delineated implementation plans in respect of 93 specific initiatives proposed.

The Service Delivery Project is one of the five fast track projects proposed under the MGP. The other projects deal with poverty alleviation, information access to citizens in key offices and simplification of rules and procedures.

This project had been approved in principle in June and the document was made public for discussion and recording suggestions, if any, for improvement. However, the document, in its final format, does not feature any major changes to the original.

The initiatives cover three broad areas of creating an enabling environment for economic growth and employment generation, core government functions, minimum needs programme and effective, efficient and accessible local self-governments.

The major initiatives proposed include formation of the State civil services, merit-based promotions in Government service, a minimum needs programme covering health and other sectors, restructuring of subsidies and formulation of a unified water resources policy.

Among other proposals are public enterprises reforms, removal of labour market rigidities, strengthening of infrastructure and mechanism for guaranteeing investment in infrastructure, new initiatives in the education sector, redeployment of excess teachers and a ban on active politics by teachers.

The local bodies would be given better control of public health institutions as also freedom to collect health cess from households, if required. Community management of water supply and sanitation will be encouraged and a holistic water management system propagated by way of incentive mechanisms and encouraging rainwater harvesting.

A knowledge-based decision support system would be brought into being in order to ensure transparent e-governance. A knowledge archive would be created at the Government Secretariat and an information technology-based information exchange set up for improving governance.

Under a five-year planning framework for local bodies, asset managements plans would be drawn up and guidelines for public-private partnership and district-level sector plans issued.

Local development would be planned with a focus on jobs for the poor in select panchayats. A number of measures have been proposed for strengthening local bodies and ensuring accountability.

The Service Delivery Project would be implemented in select institutions in the Departments of Education, Health, Local Administration, General Administration, Revenue, Registration, Social Welfare, Civil Supplies and Home. Committees set up at the district and institutional levels would be responsible for drawing up detailed programmes and implementation.

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Kerala okays ADB-assisted service delivery project

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