Kerala Planning Board vice-chairman K. M. Chandrasekhar has said that recent incidents have proved that governance plays a significant role in deciding the fate of candidates in elections, perhaps much more than political alignments and caste factors.
Addressing a meeting on ‘governance and economic development’, organised by the Kerala Management Association (KMA) here on Tuesday, he said the focus should be on the big scene, taking a holistic view of global environment and technological transformation.
Mr. Chandrasekhar said consensus building is an important aspect. Even though it is known that introduction of goods and services tax regime will benefit Kerala, there is no consensus within the State. “We need to merge some of the sectors,” he said.
Underlining the need for spending resources effectively, he said there had been some innovative models such as Kudumbasree. Certain good models had been developed in certain parts of the country in respect of land records maintenance, flood and drought management and public health. District-level planning needs to be done on a much larger scale, he said. The current formats on performance appraisal were inadequate, he said.
The best way to curb corruption is through systemic changes, as could be made out from the experiences in e-ticketing. System change can bring about accountability. Delegating power is an effective way to ensure better governance. “We need to give up tendency to centralise,” he said.
T. K. Jose, Chairman, Coconut Development Board, urged KMA to pursue an action-oriented mode, engaging people in activities aimed at improving urban amenities. Earlier, S. R. Nair, president, KMA, outlined the association’s plans. G.Krishnakumar, chairman, programme committee, and K.Rajan George, Secretary, spoke.
