| Kerala
Institute of Local Administration (KILA)
Mulagunnathukavu P.O, Thrissur – 680 581, Kerala, India Phone : +91 487 201312, 201061, 201768, 200244, Fax : +91 487 201312 email : [email protected] |
Genesis
and History
Kerala
Institute of Local Administration (KILA), an autonomous institution under the
Ministry of Local Administration, Government of Kerala, is the nodal agency for
training, research and consultancy for Local Self Government Institutions.
Apart from training and policy oriented research activities, KILA
organises seminars, workshops and discussions on various issues of local
governance and development.
KILA
is a link between and the Government and is also a think tank for policy
formulations. The feedback that
have been gathered from various training programmes together with the research
help facilitate the Government in the formulation of pragmatic policies.
Also in implementing these policies, KILA plays a major role by means of
wider dissemination of information through training, publications, seminars,
workshops and discussions.
The
Kerala Panchayati Raj Act 1960 provided the State with the institutional set up
for democratic decentralisation at the village level.
With 13 obligatory and 59 discretionary functions, the Panchayats in
Kerala began to touch upon every aspect of village life.
To
meet the training requirements of panchayat functionaries, two training
institutes of local administration were set up in early sixties.
These institutes, handicapped by various inadequacies in terms of
infrastructure including office buildings, training equipments, residential
facilities etc were neither purposeful nor effective in functioning right from
the beginning.
As
a sequel to increasing emphasis laid by Government of India on rural development
through people’s participation vis-à-vis Panchayati Raj during VIIth Five
Year Plan, steps were initiated in the state to revitalise the existing training
institutes at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
This
has resulted in the establishment of a full fledged training institute in the
form of Kerala Institute of Local Administration at the central part of Kerala
viz, Thrissur and the winding up of the erstwhile institutes at Kozhikode and
Thiruvananthapuram.
Kerala
Institute of Local Administration (KILA) was established in 1990 in pattern of a
national institute with the objective of training, research and consultancy.
With a view to develop it as an institution of excellence, KILA was
converted into an autonomous body and registered as a charitable society under
Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act 1955 with
effect from 1.10.1990. KILA
commenced its activities in May 1990. The
first training programme was held during 7-11, May 1990 by imparting training to
100 Presidents of Panchayats.
KILA
is a unique institution in India in many aspects, it is an institution of local
self-governments (the corpus fund has been contributed by them); the outstanding
infrastructural facilities; and Kerala is the only state having such an
institution exclusively focussing on local bodies.
The
Constitution (Seventy Third & Seventy Fourth Amendment) Act 1992
Article
40 in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) of the constitution has
stated that the state shall take steps to organise village panchayats and
nagarapalikas endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to
enable them to function as units of local self government.
To fulfil the long cherished dreams of the father of the nation, Mahatma
Gandhi, the Union Government passed 73rd and 74th
Amendment Act-1992, which came into effect from 20th & 24th
April 1993. Thus the institution of
Panchayati Raj and Nagarapalikas in its rejuvenated and revitalised form, seeks
to realise the goal of democratic decentralisation, to accelerate socio-economic
development and to bring about equity and social justice.
To
satisfy the constitutional mandate, the State of Kerala passed the Kerala
Panchayati Raj Act 1994. The above steps are the landmark and historic events in
bringing about the local self government institutions (LSGIs). Against this backdrop, the role and responsibility of KILA
has become wider and more challenging in so far the capacity building and
imparting training to the local self government functionaries are concerned.
To enable them to carry out their tasks efficiently and developing
management skills to bring about the necessary behavioural changes are the
immediate concern of KILA.
The
commitment of the country to the Panchayati Raj system is long and deep.
Ushering this in Rajasthan, late Prime Minister of India, Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru hailed it as “the most revolutionary as historical step in
the context of new India”.
Objectives
KILA
was set up with objectives of facilitating and accelerating socio-economic
development of the state through local self government institutions.
These ultimate objectives are sought to be achieved through training of
the functionaries of local bodies and research in the area of local
administration. The following are
the objectives of KILA as per the Memorandum of Association and Rules.
1.
To undertake and assist in the organisation of training and study
courses, conferences, workshops, seminars etc. for the functionaries of the
Panchayat Department and local bodies (Local Government Institutions and
Departments), non-officials such as Members of Legislative Assembly, Members of
Parliament, Panchayat Presidents, Chairpersons of Municipalities, Mayors of
Corporations and other non-officials concerned with the administration of local
bodies.
2.
To undertake, aid, promote and co-ordinate research through its own or
through other agencies.
3.
To establish centres for study and orientation of (a) training and
instruction (b) research and evaluation and such other activities.
4.
To analyse and propose solutions for specific problems encountered in the
implementation of programmes of panchayats and other local bodies.
5.
To act as an advisory agency to the State Government in the area of
Panchayati Raj, Nagarapalikas and Local Administration, to establish and
maintain libraries and information services.
6.
To collaborate with other institutions, associations and societies in
India and abroad interested in similar objectives and to offer fellowships,
scholarships, prizes, etc. in furtherance of the objectives of the society.
Organisational
Structure
General Council
The
General Council is the supreme authority which deals with policy matters
concerning KILA. The Hon’ble Minister for Local Self Government, Government
of Kerala is the President of the General Council and the Chief Secretary,
Government of Kerala is the Vice-President.
The
other members of the General Council are: