A seminar organised by the district panchayat ahead of the finalisation of its annual plan for the 2017-18 fiscal here on Wednesday underscored the greater responsibility of various local self-government bodies in planning development projects that respect the conservation of nature.
Speakers at the seminar also stressed the need for better student participation in conservation programmes and raising a generation with true love for nature.
Inaugurating the seminar, E.J. Joseph, Executive Director of the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, said the prime focus of Kozhikode district in view of the looming drought should be the conservation of potable water sources.
He also called upon the panchayat authorities to seriously think of the possibility of recharging the ponds along the Kuttiyadi irrigation canals through a proper channel.
District panchayat president Babu Parassery said the district had several adoptable models in nature conservation, creation of potable water sources and revival of traditional farming. “The Avalapandy paddy farming project was the best example in the recent times where around 1,100 acres of barren land was cultivated with the support of the local bodies,” he said.
P.G. George, chairman of the Standing Committee on Development, presented the draft of the annual plan.
