Kerala, which has pioneered several schemes for improving public participation in governance, is all set to launch a mission — We Care Corps — to help grama panchayats in the State form an army of people willing to offer free service to charitable initiatives of the government.
In an interview to The Hindu , here, on Sunday, Minister for Panchayats and Social Justice M.K. Muneer said the project would be launched in the State on January 26, 2016.
“We plan to enrol two lakh people, including students, professionals, industrialists and senior citizens, for the project.
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The aim of the project is to offer citizens a chance to serve orphans, indigent people, bedridden patients and those with chronic illness,” said Dr. Muneer.
The Minister said that through the project, people would get personal care in their illness or isolation.
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It would also bring a change in the conventional habit of people, especially the affluent, who contribute financially, but keep off the prime responsibility of caring them directly.
New website
The Panchayat Department would design a new website to help citizens easily complete the enrolment procedures easily.
Student Police Cadets and the volunteers of the National Service Scheme would be brought under the network.
District-level and grama panchayat-level training programmes would be organised after the first phase of registration.
Action plan
“As per our current plan, a certificate will be issued to all the registered candidates after a preliminary training. Later, reviewing their performance, the department will award them a badge, which will fetch them special privileges in the mission,” said Dr. Muneer.
The local panchayats would be allowed to set apart five per cent of their Plan fund to support programmes of We Care Corps, he added.