Handbooks to streamline functioning of local bodies

THRISSUR: To streamline the functioning of civic bodies in the state, Kerala Institute of Local Administration (Kila) is preparing manuals and handbooks with financial assistance of World Bank.The handbooks, which will function as a guideline, are prepared based on the Kerala local government service delivery project, which has already launched in the state with the objective of strengthening service delivery system of local self-governments in Kerala. "A manual will be prepared with the help of national and international consultants. Handbooks will also be made based on the contents in the manual and it will be distributed among elected members from local bodies, at a training programme imparted by Kila," said P P Balan, Kila director. The handbooks will encapsulate plan formation, implementation, budget preparation, financial management, auditing, accounting, women empowerment, grievance management, transparency accountability and procurement management in local bodies. We will give training to elected members in 60 municipalities and 978 grama panchayats in the state based on the guidelines in the handbooks. The handbooks are prepared at a cost of Rs 2crores from World Bank. The aim of preparing handbooks and give training to elected members is to make the centralized service delivery system to reach at the grass root level in the society, he added.