Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ensures that rural development is in harmony with international goals, the Economic Survey released on Friday said, lauding Kerala for having a robust, community-based model that leverages its strong local governance institutions, and called it a “replicable model”.
“The localisation of SDGs ensures that rural development is in harmony with international goals, focusing on essential services like housing, sanitation, water supply, and electrification. This strategy promotes inclusive growth and enhances the quality of life at the grassroots level,” the Economic Survey said.
Kerala uses a “robust, community-based model that leverages its strong local governance institutions”, the survey said.
“Awareness and community engagement efforts focus on educating local officials on the relevance of poverty alleviation and environmental resilience, which are led by state and national leaders,” it said, adding that it is a replicable model for SDG localisation.
The report said Local Self Government Department, with technical support from the Kerala Institute for Local Administration (KILA), have developed comprehensive guidelines and processes to incorporate SDGs into local planning. They also train stakeholders in SDG-aligned development and data collection.
The state has a real-time SDG dashboard to monitor the panchayats and is able to use such localised data for decision-making and to provide insights on development indicators, the Survey highlighted.
SDG Coordination Centres (SDGCCs), which drive localisation efforts in states and UTs by governments in partnership with implementing agencies, are currently operational in 10 states/UTs -- Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Nagaland, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
SDGs localisation is being pursued at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level through Village Panchayat Development Plans under Mission Antyodaya and the Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme (TADP), adopted in 2018 with districts as the lowest level of implementation.
Accelerating forward, the preparation for a Local Indicator Framework (LIF) at the GP level is already in the process where nine themes have been designed spanning across the 17 SDGs.
