The successful implementation of various welfare schemes and innovative farming methods has won Mulanthurthy pancyhayat the second prize at the State-level for the best performing grama panchayat. It is for the third time in a row that Kochi’s neighbourhood panchayat is winning the honours, bringing cheer to a host of people who have worked behind the scenes to make the panchayat a model for others.
The honour is doubly sweet for panchayat president Renji Kurian Kollinal, who has been chosen best panchayat president in the State. He is on the verge of achieving a hat-trick. C.S. Sosamma, now retired, has won recognition for her performance as the panchayat secretary.
The local body truly deserved to be honoured, said Saji Mulanthuruthy, social activist and journalist, about the recognitions.
According to him, while it has been an all-round performance, the authorities have done well to get the panchayat rid of fallow land, encouraging farming in a big way over the last three years.
Mr. Kurian said one of the panchayat’s significant achievements had been on the farming front. Actively farmed land in Mulanthuruthy had increased from 64 hectares to over 200 hectares over the years, he said on Sunday.
Mulanthuruthy Public Library secretary K.K. Sunny said the local body had shown the way for others. The panchayat banned plastic about six months ago and was on its way to shifting totally to LED lighting systems as part of a massive energy efficiency move, he said.
Benoy Haridas, a panchayat member, said the local body had been following the directions set by the government in different areas of activities. The Haritha Keralam mission had been implemented through different initiatives, including joint liability groups that had brought fallow land under cultivation, he said.
Mr. Kurian said not only had farming base been expanded, but the panchayat had also succeeded in forming its own ‘Green Army’ of farm hands and mechanising all operations, including planting and harvesting.
Mobile app
The panchayat has also taken steps to care for its aged as well as children, while developing a mobile application to provide various services to the public. The local body has received ISO certification for its operations.