ALAPPUZHA: Local Self-Government secretary S.M. Vijayanand has said that a large number of panchayats in the State had not achieved targets in the mobilisation of resources.

He was delivering the keynote address at a training programme organised here on Thursday by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration for the presidents of the local bodies in the district. "Many panchayats could not even achieve 48 per cent of the target," he said.

Mr. Vijayanand said in the past 10 years, many panchayats could not attain the economic development that was visualised.

The panchayats had gone backward in the production sector, he said. At the same time, there was remarkable progress in basic infrastructure development, he said.

Mr. Vijayanand said two-third of the amount earmarked in the last budget for the development of Scheduled Castes and Tribes had been distributed to the panchayats, but almost 30 per cent of the amount got lapsed in a majority of the panchayats.

Mr. Vijayanand said the political leadership of the local bodies had the capacity to intervene effectively in the development issues. In such issues, the leaders who rose to the State and district leadership through the local bodies were found more effective than the leaders who came up through the student and trade unions, he said.

Mr. Vijayanand said politics of hatred had no importance in the local level. Only development politics that aimed to fulfil the needs of society had any relevance.

Earlier, the work of the local bodies was confined to the service sector, but now it was their responsibility to ensure economic development and implement social justice, he said.

District panchayat president R. Nazar inaugurated the training programme.

Those who spoke at the programme included Alappuzha District Collector K.R. Muraleedharan and panchayat deputy director A.K. Ramanatha Pillai.

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