Wetlands in their natural state bring substantial benefits to society. Nevertheless, there is growing concern over conversion of wetlands. This study examines the case of coastal wetland conversion in Kerala, known as backwater reclamation. The conversion of wetlands involves not only...

This paper analyses the dynamics of participatory institutions in Kodayathur Gram Panchayat in Kerala. It also explores how the different fields of society in panchayat internalised and reproduced these institutions through their actual practices. The study has adopted a relational methodology,...

The Democratic decentralisation process was launched in Kerala with the Peoples Planning Campaign in 1996 followed by the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India and the passing of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Nagara Palika Act. One of the major objectives of the decentralisation...

The present paper discusses the necessity of promoting income-generating activities (IGAs) under micro-finance programmes. Under micro-finance programmes, the principle of joint liability ensures access to credit. In the absence of remunerative IGAs, peer pressure forces the members to borrow...

The study identifies the factors which influence users' participation in community based rural water supply schemes in north Kerala using primary data. To capture the rate of participation two forms of indices were constructed - one, to measure the attendance in the group meeting the other, for...