In the state of Gujarat, decentralization has grown increasingly important in ensuring that the development programs created by the government at the central level actually reach those who need those benefits the most. By focusing on strengthening local governments, Abhiyan ensures that those who live in a village are able to plan for their village and to shape the future of following generations. Through decentralization, local governments work on the local needs of their village and are empowered with the proper tools to do so.
The state government of Gujarat is rapidly endorsing industrialization and has created all kinds of corporate tax breaks and incentives for major factories to establish themselves in the Kutch district. The local governments and citizens have only little power to encourage these corporations to take the environment, culture, tradition, the health and well-being of people into consideration. Farmers face land encroachment and migrant workers have doubled the populations of small villages not yet at capacity to support such sudden growth. This has led to severe sanitation, hygiene problems etc. and weighs heavy on the spirit of the people in rural Kutch.
Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan, in cooperation with qualified resource persons from all over India and as part of a larger proposal to strengthen grassroots governance, citizenship and the political economy of rural Kutch, has begun the process of establishing a leadership and Research Centre on Decentralized Governance, in order to engage with change makers within civil society, key Local Government (Panchayat) leaders and grassroots administrators. The Centre will put in place a Learning Hub, which will, amongst other activities, undertake structured knowledge building on good decentralised local governance. One of the core interventions of the Learning Hub is to develop a course on Local Governance and Citizenship. The objective of the course is to equip change agents in decentralized governance with the theory and practice of decentralized governance. This innovative training program encourages citizens and local government officials to become advocates for their right to govern. This course introduces them to new tools such as natural resource mapping and budgeting, and conceptual ideas about democracy, advocacy and citizenship, leaving all participants hopeful for a better future.
Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan, in cooperation with qualified resource persons from all over India and as part of a larger proposal to strengthen grassroots governance, citizenship and the political economy of rural Kutch, has begun the process of establishing a leadership and Research Centre on Decentralized Governance, in order to engage with change makers within civil society, key Local Government (Panchayat) leaders and grassroots administrators. The Centre will put in place a Learning Hub, which will, amongst other activities, undertake structured knowledge building on good decentralised local governance. One of the core interventions of the Learning Hub is to develop a course on Local Governance and Citizenship. The objective of the course is to equip change agents in decentralized governance with the theory and practice of decentralized governance. This innovative training program encourages citizens and local government officials to become advocates for their right to govern. This course introduces them to new tools such as natural resource mapping and budgeting, and conceptual ideas about democracy, advocacy and citizenship, leaving all participants hopeful for a better future.
This month the first session of the training ended and the motivation, the engagement and the energy of the participants was inspiring. See the pictures of the different workshops held in November 2010 and January and May 2011.
