Kerala State has 941 Grama Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats,
87 Municipalities and 6 Corporations. Consequent to the 73rd and 74th amendments
to the Constitution, the three-tier system came into existence in India . In Kerala,
Local Self-Government Institutions have been meaningfully empowered through massive
transfer of resources as well as administrative powers. Local self-government Institutions
have emerged as effective agencies for the implementation of developmental programmes.
Developmental programmes are identified and implemented through Grama Sabhas. With
the decentralisation of power, Local administration department has gained an important
role in the formulation and implementation of developmental works at the grass-root
level. Today Panchayat Directorate, Directorate of Urban Affairs, Commissionerate
of Rural Development and Town and Country Planning Department are the major allied
departments of Local Administration. Related to local administration activities,
there are different allied institutions and training centers under LSGD.
To establish efficient and responsive systems for good governance and improving
public service with comprehensive citizen interface mechanisms, community Information
Systems and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) driven back-end computerization
programme covering various functions like monitoring of developmental projects,
human resource management, grievance redressal, accounting and budgeting, financial
management, and establishing a holistic social security network in local self governments.