Life's A Beach...Almost

Venganoor is a nondescript village bordering the famous Kovalam tourist spot at the southern end of Kerala. But it's a success story of how a politician graduated into an astute political manager at the local self-government level. Venganoor panchayat president, Rufus Daniel, Marxist-turned-Congressman, is not sure if his party would want him around in the next elections. But by taking his role as panchayat president seriously, he has risen above petty party politics to make Venganoor a model panchayat. It has been recognised as the first S1 village in Kerala by the State Planning Board. Which means the village is on its way to self-reliance, sufficiency and sustainability.

The Venganoor panchayat certainly means business. There's not been a single walkout at the panchayat committee in the last three years. "The committees, for a change in Kerala, take unanimous decisions," says panchayat secretary S. Vijayakumar, pointing to the camaraderie among all the 15 members of the panchayat council. The panchayat has learnt to adopt a transparent, complaint-free and equitable pattern for fund disbursal. The criterion is: those in need get help first. That explains the rapid strides being made by the once revenue-deficit, half-the-people-below-poverty-line panchayat.

When the 50-year-old Daniel took charge of the panchayat three years ago, the village's sole claim to fame was its proximity to Kovalam. The panchayat did not even have a cinema house—a regular source of income for any local body. A movie theatre has not come up yet, but on the social development front, it has sprung some surprises.

Buds, an exclusive centre set up for physically- and mentally-challenged children here, is a bold venture as half the expenses are met by donations from volunteers. Donors from far and near have responded to requests. Funds also come from the State Poverty Eradication Mission, which helps the panchayat in community development activities. The basis for these development efforts has been a survey of the social profile of the population. It showed that often the official inputs do not reflect the real state of affairs. For instance, the village survey showed that 29 per cent of the 50,000 population belonged to the scheduled caste category against the official 21 per cent.

Apart from pursuing Asashrya, a pilot state-level scheme for the destitute, Venganoor is set to become the first village in the state to focus on child development. It has launched Sisumitra, a five-year-long project for the development of children based on the "experience quotient functional approach" of the Oklahoma-based Paul Zahler. The project focuses on the needs of nearly 1,000 kids from marginalised sections.

Bhavanashree is a new scheme to construct houses with bank linkages. This is in addition to the 474 houses already built with the panchayat's funds for the BPL sections. At the same time, organic farming is spreading to conventionally non-arable zones, boosting homestead cultivation. Thanal, a local ngo, has joined the Organic Farmers Association of India and the alternative programme of the Indian Institute of Rural Development, to market pesticide- and fertiliser-free produce.

Traditional cottage industries here are looking up. Weaver S. Sasidharan, who won the President's award for his Balaramapuram hand-woven saree (ranging from Rs 3,000-15,000 for the upmarket variety), plans to expand his activities by setting up more looms. Says panchayat development committee chairperson K.J. Surendranath: "We are setting up a marketing centre for cottage products. It will be a major intervention in ensuring better remuneration for artisans."

The village panchayat can be contacted at: Panchayat Office, Venganoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala—695 523.Phone: Venganoor panchayat secretary: 04712480256.