Governor P. Sathasivam has called for revisiting the People’s Plan Campaign to make the State's decentralisation programme more effective.
Inaugurating the State-level Panchayat Day celebration here on Sunday, the Governor said that though the campaign was a model for other States, there were still nearly three-lakh homeless people in the State even after 20 years of the decentralisation of power.
In order to make the decentralisation work, planning should begin at the grassroots level, he said.
Mr. Sathasivam said the State had set a model for other States in various sectors, including education and land reformation. He underlined the need for an effective waste management system.
“The government sees health as a fundamental right, but how it is possible when we dump waste that attracts pests and thus leading to the spread of diseases?’’ he asked. He said that in Raj Bhavan, no disposables, plastic carriers or bottled water are used
The Governor called upon local bodies to focus on their own watershed management systems instead of waiting for centralised projects to manage the impending drought.
In his presidential address, Minister for Local Self-Government K.T. Jaleel said a welfare fund and insurance scheme for former panchayat members was in the pipeline. He said that a proposal to increase the sitting fees of panchayat members and presidents was under the consideration of the government.
