Kerala A Land of Resources & Development Paradoxes

by K Rajasekharan

Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA)Email: rajankila@hotmail.com

4th January 2014

Map of Kerala with Districts

Kerala : The Land of Coconuts

• Kerala is the land of Coconuts (Kera), rivers, rain, Kathakali, snake boats & backwaters

• It has 560 km length & 60 km breadth• 44 rivers, 34 lakes & 448 Km of inland water ways are their

in Kerala• There exists 30 dams across those rivers

The Myth about Kerala

• Parasurama, an avatar of God Mahavishnu threw his battle axe into the sea and Kerala emerged from the sea

• Parasuram’s life goal was to set free the world from the arrogant rulers whom he killed &

• he handed over the conquered land to Brahmins as penitence

• Then he sat meditating at the northern part of Kerala at Gokarnam &

• He later reached Kanyakumari and throw his axe to north reclaiming the land up to Gokarnam

• It was Kerala - the myth says

Kerala at a Glance

AreaSC/ST Population 38863

Population (2011 Census) 334 lakh

Urban PopulationRural

159 lakh (52.28 per cent)175 lakh ( 47.72 per cent)

Density per Sq KM 819

Sex Ratio 1084 females /1000 males

BPL per cent 12. 05 (1999-2000)

Literacy 03.91 ( Women :96.02 / Men 91.98)

SC/ST Population 10.9 per cent ( 9.8 SC and 1.1 ST)

Social Reformers of Kerala

• Sree Narayana Guru 1885-1928• Ayyakali 1863-1941• Cahattampi Swamikal 1853 -1924• Mannathu Padmanabhan 1878 – 1970• Dr Palpu 1863 -1950• V T Bhattthirippad 1873 -1932 • Muhammed Abdul Rahiman 1898 – 1945• and many more…..

Third Dense State in India

• Kerala is third dense state in India followed by West Bengal & Bihar

• Kerala represent 1.8 per cent of total area of India and holds 3.43 percent of population

• Kerala is the only state where women exceeds men• Annual population growth was 0.91 % in 1991-2001

as against 1.93 in India & 1.2 in the world

Environmental Advantages of the State

• Receives heavy rain, of around 3000 mm annually• evenly distributed natural resources including rivers• evenly dispersed settlements, without rural-urban distinction• Each house has a piece of fenced land around • Good international contacts since 3000 BC• Excellent road, rail & traffic network• Good infrastructure facilities including internet• Keeps cosmopolitan & progressive outlook• The greenery, soil fertility & abundant water resources

Important Art forms in Kerala

• Long tradition in painting. Ravi Varma was an outstandng painter. Second best mural painting site in India

• Kathakali, Mohiniyattam,, Koothu, Koodiattom etc are the classical dance forms in Kerala

• Fifty folk dances are there. Thiruvathira, Kolkali, Thullal etc. are they

• Kathakali combines dance,drama & music .One needs to know the meaning of gestures to appreciate it fully

Thiruvathira : Dancing around a traditional lamp to the tune of a song

Kathakali

Mohiniattom

Malayalam Cinema The first cinema hall in 1907 at Thrissur Electornic projector came in 1913 First movie film was Vigatha Kumaran in 1928 by JC Daniel The sound film Balan, with 23 songs, was in 1938 The first film studio Udaya in 1947 Jeevithanouka was the first dramatic musical film which set

the framework of Malayalam films later Chemmeen (1965) won Presidents award 80’s and 90’s golden age of Malayalam cinema . Addor

Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, John Abraham, Padmarajan, Bharatan etc., represented the art films

Rassol Pookutty got Oscar for sound engineering

Women in Kerala

• Much ahead of their counterparts, marry at 21 (men at 28-9)

• High literacy, fewer children, marry later & Live longer

• More in numbers than men• Low paid, sexually harassed & less

powerful in politics• Kerala ranks highest in per capita

use of gold• Women have 1.9 children – One

of the lowest in India

Styles of Dress

• Simplicity and elegance are the traits of Malayalee dresses

• Diverse types of dresses from traditional to ultra modern are popular now

• Use of footwear is common • Fashion dresses reach Kerala

so fast

Kerala Food Styles

• Typical food is boiled rice with a few vegetable dishes served on a banana leaf

• Kerala dishes range from Puttu and Kadala curry to hot appam & spicy chicken curry / mutton stew

• Most prefer non-vegetarian food now

• Coconut & spices are added to every dish

Bio-diversity in Kerala

• Western Ghats is one of the 34 biodiversity hot spots in the world

• The State has more than 4500 species of flowering plants, 102 species of mammals, 476 species of reptiles, 89 species of amphibians & 202 species of fresh water fishes

Diversity in Festivals

• Onam is the most important festival in Kerala

• Thrissur Pooram - an elephant pageant - is a temple festival

• Pulikkali is another festivity• Edathua Perunal & Malayattur

Perunnal a re Christial Festivals• Chandana Kudam is Muslim

festival• Colourful festivals add beauty to

Kerala life

Formation of Kerala State

• Kerala was formed in 1956 merging princely states of Travancore, Kochi and Malabar area of Madras presidency

• Around 30 rulers were there in erstwhile Kerala land when formed

• Kerala had a distributed feudal polity before that

Revenue / Local Administration Divisions

Revenue Administration

– 14 Districts– 63 Taluks– 1634 Villages

Local AdministrationRural– 14 District Panchayats– 152 Block Panchayats– 982 Grama Panchayat

Urban– 60 Municipalities– 5 Corporations

Achievements in Health

• Kerala has outstanding achievement in the health sector due to its

• low infant mortality, • high life expectancy at birth , • low birth rate ,• low death rate and • virtual elimination of many communicable diseases

Health Indicators of Kerala

Indicators Kerala (per Cent )

India(per cent)

Birth rate (Per thousand) 2012 14.8 22.1

Death rate (Per thousand) 2012 7.0 7.02

Infant mortality (Per thousand) 2012 13.00 47.00

Maternal mortality (Per lakh live birth) 2012 81 212

Fertility rate per woman 1.70 2.6

Life expectancy Male Female

71.476.3

62.664.2

Health Institutions in Kerala

Public Sector• 2711 Allopathy Health

Centre,• 871 Ayurveda institutions,• 561 Homeo dispensaries

Private Sector• 4288 Allopathic institutions, • 4922 Ayurvedic Institutions,• 3118 Homeo dispensries

A Floursing Private Hospitals & Bettering Public Hospital at Idukki

Families in Kerala

• One-third houses in urban and 64 per cent in rural• Family comprises of 4 on average• 85 per cent lives in pucca houses• More than 2/3 get drinking water from well• 45 percent of men and 1 percent of women drink

alcohol

Poor Mental Health, but Increasing Life Style Diseases

• Kerala suicide rate is 3 times higher than national average.

• It contributes 10 % of Indian suicides. • 3-4 % of Keralites suffer from mental disorders• Life style diseases & aging pose health challenges in

Kerala Society

Educational Institutions

• Engineering Colleges 84• Medical colleges ( Allopathic) 13• Medical Colleges (Ayurveda) 17• Homeopathy Medical Colleges 5• Law Colleges 7• Arts & Science colleges 290• Higher education Universities 8

Schools in Kerala : Statistics

LP,UP & High Schools 12646

Government Schools 4500

Private aided Schools 7284

CBSE schools 587

ICSE schools 100

Central Schools 27

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya 14

Higher Secondary School 1656

Vocational Higher Secondary 375

Student enrolment 48.42 lakh

Employment in Gulf Countries

• Kerala got one crore , crore rupees from gulf in the past 25 years – 7 times higher than central assistance or more than twice the Karala state budget

• In 2007 we got 24500 crore -1/5th of SDP which means daily 60 crore rupees

• 18.5 lakh people work in gulf in 2007. Now money inflow from them is Rs 50 lakh Crore

• 15 lakh immigrant labourers work in Kerala & they send 25 lakh crore

Unemployment Problem in Kerala

• Kerala labour force is around 237 lakh, 2.5 % of Indian labour force

• No of job seekers are 37.56 lakh in 2004• No of professional & technical work seekers are

1.78 lakh• Employability of technical work seekers are poor

Spread of Banks in Kerala

• The bank branches in Kerala on March 2008 were 3843

• Average population per bank is 9000 as against 15000 in India

• Banks have customer services such as core banking-banking, phone banking, ATMS etc

Public Sector Enterprises

• 111 public enterprises are there in Kerala• The returns form public enterprises are very low• Govt is making huge investment• Govt fixes very low user charges

News Papers & Magazines

The first newspaper was Rajya samacharam in 1847, then Nasrani Deepika in 1887 which still continues as

Deepika Malayala Marorama in 1888, become daily in 1928 Swadeshabhimani Rama Krishna pilla was the first

journalist deported in 1910 for criticizing rulers. Kerala Kaumudi in 1911. Mathrubhumi in

1923.Deshabhmain in 1942 . Madhyamam in 1987.

News Papers & Magazines in the State

• No of magazines1483• Dailies: 200; • Weeklies 178; • Fortnightlies:174; • Monthlies 762; • Quarterlies: 95; • Others: 74•

• No of Newspapers:1137 • Circulation of

Newspapers: 30 lakhs • Circulation of weeklies:

22.63 lakhs• Circulation of

monthlies: 10.63 lakhs

Increasing Radio & Television Channels

• There are 7 All India Radio stations with reach in the entire State

• Doordarsan is the prime channel covering entire State with 3 High Power Transmitters(HPT), 18 Low Power Transmitters & 2 Very Low Power Transmitters (VLPT)

• There are many satellite channels too

Housing : Not a Serious Problem

• Kerala has 65.95 lakh households and 65.32 per cent housing units with shortage of only 0.63 per cent

• 68 per cent live in permanent houses, 21.6 % in semi-permanent

• 56 per cent houses are good, 36 per cent livable and 8 per cent dilapidated

• People prefer to live in fenced independent houses

Poor Public Sanitation

• Kerala has largest coverage of house latrines in India• 48 per cent of 65.95 lakh households have sanitary

latrines• Over 60 per cent of household latrines are located

close to open dug wells causing health risk

Poor Solid Waste Management

• Solid waste management in the State is poor• Fifty per cent of the waste generated in Kerala is

allowed to decompose on road margins, drains, canals, water bodies or open space

• Bio-Medical waste is a problem due to AIDS / Hepatitis

• 68 per cent of SW is bio degradable & 32 per cent is non-degradable

Religious Composition

• Kerala population consist of 56.2 percent Hindus,24.7 percent of Muslims & 19 percent Christians & 1 per cent others

• Hinduism here is fusion of Aryan & Dravidian culture• Buddhism & Jainism existed along with no conflict• Christianity reached by 58 AD & Muslim by 8th

centaury• Rigorous caste system existed • No rancor among religions but amity prevailed

Fast Declining Forest Wealth

• In 1800 ,75 per cent was forest. • In 1900, it declined to 38 per cent &• in 1940 to 33 per cent• 1940 – 1970 was the period of destruction of forest • Kerala retains around 10 per cent of fast declining

forests• Silent valley national park is the only piece of

evergreen forest • The valley is even devoid of chirping of insects• Vehicular transport is possible upto 21 KM away

Once Appreciated Kerala Architecture

• Kings permission was needed to have a tiled roof up to 1930s in Kerala

• Kerala houses had low walls, slopping roofs and over hanging eaves

• Reinforced Concrete Cement made its entry in 1950s and became popular in 1970s giving way for flat roofed box type structures

• Eighties were marked by low cost eco-friendly houses of Laurie Baker style

• Commercial buildings are becoming high-tech with glass, steel & aluminum

Portuguese, Dutch & English influenced Kerala Architecture

Road Network & Transportation

• Kerala has 4.2 per cent of road network in India with 44.42 lakh vehicles on March 2008

• The length of road per people & road density per area is much higher than national average

• Traffic grows at 10 per cent while road at 5 per cent• Railway coverage is very high-188 stations• We have 3 air ports &18 ports• Out of 1.54 lakh Km of road length 1.04 lakh Km road is

held by Panchayats • 26 % of panchayat roads are black topped, 60 % are

gravelled

First Private International Air Port at Kochi

Increasing Vehicle Accidents

• 8 persons die per day on the road earlier and the number goes up to 12 now

• 15 accidents per thousand vehicles against 7.5 nationally

• 12 per cent accidents in India takes place in Kerala with 1.18 percent area and 3.17 per cent population

• Kerala has 50 lakh vehicles

Wayside Vegetable selling / Growing Consumer Markets

• Kerala stands foremost among States in per-capita consumption expenditure

• You can see consumer markets everywhere in Kerala and consumerism is growing

• Public Distribution Shops is available at every 2 sq km that feeds the poor

Kerala Public Distribution System

• Dates back to 1st July 1965

• Targeted public distribution system with categorized card for Below Poverty Line exist since 1 July 1997

• Coverage of Ration Card for families is almost full

• Poor below poverty line get 35 Kg of rice for Rs 70 per month

Increasing Alcohol Consumption

• Most drunken state • Per capita liquor consumption

in Kerala is 8.3 against 4 liters all India 7 is rising

• Alcohol increases fracas, felony , suicides, accidents and street violence,

• takes away household peace & productivity

• 16 per cent Keralites consumes alcohol

• Drinking causes 60 per cent of vehicle accidents & 1/3 of industrial accidents

Kerala Tea Shop : Part of public Sphere The teashop in Kerala

has been a gathering place of local people for long discussions on politics and current affairs.

Now such traditional teach shops are decreasing in number.

Proud Legacy of Kerala Legislature

• Travancore, a Kingly state in Kerala, formed a legislative council on 30th March 1988 for the first time in India

• It had 2 non-official & 6 official members, for 3 years• In 1904 Sree Moolam popular Assembly was

established with 100 members to associate people with administration

• In Cochin Legislative Council was established in 1925• 1920 onwards Malabar had representatives in

Madras Legislative Assembly• 1933 witnessed creation of a lower house Sri Moolam

assembly- & upper house Sri Chitra state Council

• Since 4th Sep 1947, the popular assembly functioned as Constituent assembly of Travancore

• On 1 July 1949 Travancore & Cochin merged together and the assembly had 178 members altogether from both

• Travancore –Cochin became the constituent part of India in 1950

• In 1957, Legislature was formed with 127 members in the first Assembly

• It has 141 members now

Legislative Assembly Building

• It has 8 stories & 3 sub surface stories

• Area is 42, 583 sq ft• Assembly hall has 1340 sq ft

area with 29 mtr height• Seating capacity 186+ 1438

for guests• Has 170 halogen lamps to

lighten the hall• Inaugurated on 3 Sep 2005

by PM

Governance in Kerala

• A communist Government sworn in on 5th April 1957, first in the world & was dismissed on 31 July 1959.

• Kerala follows socialistic welfare measures• The right(INC) and left fronts (CPI-M) forms

Governments in alternate elections • Women members varied 8 to 13 out of 140 nowadays• Party politics is the lifeblood of every Malayalee• Political workers are well trained, eloquent & well

versed in persuasion• Secretariat building started functioning on 23 -8-1869

Kerala Secretariat

• Roman & Dutch a architecture• Started on 23 Aug 1869• Assembly hall added to it on 8th

February 1939, by Sir CP• South block added on 18 Aug

1961• Sandwich block on 26 Jan 1976• Latest annex on 11 Feb 1982• Chief Secretary heads this &

assists the Council of Ministers• The Rules of Business fix

procedures

Kerala High Court (HC) : Largest Building in Kerala

• The Sardar Court in 1861 had the powers of HC

• The HC of Travancore in 1887 with 5 Judges

• HC of Travancore-Cochin on 7th July 1949

• HC of Kerala on 1 Nov 1956• The HC has 29 Add. District courts,

16 Family courts, 22 MACT, 14 Chief Judicial Magistrates, 4 Additional CJM & 127 First Class Magistrates under it

Progressive Developments

• Kerala is a pioneer in land & labour reforms• Un-touchability has been eradicated • Absolute poverty has been reduced • It has success in family planning & workers education

& may have zero population growth by 2035• Average monthly per capita consumption

expenditure in Kerala is highest in India

Changing Land Use in Kerala

• Net sown area is 56 percent • Forest constitutes 28 %• Non- agricultural land use is 10.52 %• Food crops comprises 13.6 % of gross cropped area• Only 13.6 % of net cropped area is under irrigation

Unencouraging Agricultural Situation

• 94 per cent are small holdings of .15 hectare against national average of .40

• Much of Kerala is mainly under plantation crops, leading to food deficit

• Rice is staple diet ,but produced much less• Kerala accounts for 92 % of Indian rubber,70%of

coconut,60%of tapioca and almost 100% of lemon grass oil

• Coconut occupies 41 % of net cropped area and provides livelihood to 3.5 million families

• Rubber, tea, coffee, and cardamom occupies 29 per cent of net cropped area

• Crops like pepper,Tapioca, Areca nut, banana, cashew, ginger etc are cultivated

• Agriculture growth is declining - from 45 % of SDP in fifties to 11% of SDP now

Why Agriculture Declines

• Decline in productivity& area

• Environmental degradation• Absence of irrigation for

non-rice crops• Lack of agri-related

businesses• Poor investment in

agriculture• Non existence of agri-

storage facilities• Unregulated import of agri-

produces

Milk & Egg in Kerala

• Milk production in the State is declining whereas in India it is increasing

• In egg, the gap between production and requirement is widening

• Meat production is keeping pace with demand

Tardy Industrial Development

• Industrial development is staggering• We have 18271 private factories& 4.05 lakh jobs• There are 90 functional PSUs• Kerala is well known for its traditional industries like

cashew, handlooms, handicrafts and bamboo which engages 1 million people

• Information Technology is in the booming stage• Tourism is gaining importance & have generated 8

lakh jobs in 2004• Kerala accounts for about 1/3 of Indian marine

exports

Infrastructural Advantages

• Kerala has the highest telephone density in India with 32 lakhs land phones and highest number of mobiles

• Road length per lakh is 458 .8 Km against 259.2 Km for India

• Kerala has post office for 7.7 sq km with a total of 5077 in the State

• Eight out of 10 socially developed districts in India lie in Kerala as per ‘India Today’

• Kerala is the first baby friendly state as per Unicef

Precarious Power Sector

• The first hydel project was in 1900 at pallivasal. It was a private project of Kannan- Devan firm

• We have 24 hydel projects – 2617 MW• 5 Thermal projects – 1810.60 MW• 1 wind project –2 MW and

• 77.9 lakh energy consumers

Rising Crimes in Kerala

• 1239 Murders in 2003-2004• 13428 House braking incidents• 1424 Rapes• 1211 Unidentified bodies• 6605 Cases of Absconding• 5441 Vehicle theft

Menace of Paralysing Hartals

• 123 in 2003• Working days were only 160• In 2000-2004, 662 Govt

vehicles damaged in hartals• One day hartal makes a loss

of 700 Crore• In 2005,32.5 lakh man days

lost due to workers strikes

Kerala tops in Consumerism

• Spent Rs 2100 for mobile phone in 2007 by one Crore mobile users

• Kerala is said to hold 25 per cent of Gold Use in India

• Kerala tops in per capita loan by individuals

Cultural Heritage of Kerala

• Kerala’s folk music, mostly devotional, has rugged beauty with its rhyme and rhythm

• Contributions of Swathi Thirunal & Raja Ravi Varma in music and painting respectively are unique

• The chenda, and chengala are dominant percussion instruments of Kerala

125 year old building of Art Museum at Thiruvananthapuram The oldest in India established in 1855

Massage & Yoga for Health and Beauty

Ayurveda is a holistic system for prevention & cure of body ailments, based on plant drugs

Yoga and meditation are popular

Both refreshes the body and mind together

Athirappally Water Fall & Tourist Places at Thrissur

• Athirappally water falls is 63 KM away

• Vazhachal water fall is again 5 KM away from Athirapally

• Peechi dam, Vilangan Hill, Elephant yard etc are other near places

• Sakthan Thampuran Palace is an archeological piece with 6 acre garden

Other Tourist Places

• Thiruvananthapuram – capital city – is an abode of temples ,mosques and churches,Kovalam beach,Veli back water, Neyyar dam & ponmudi hill resort

• Periyar wildlife sanctuary at Thekkady and Hill station at Munnar

• Sabarimala & Guruvayur are pilgrim centers• Kochi & Kozhikodu are cities worth seeing

Traits of Keralites

• Highly sociable • Good at friendship but bitter in enmity• Strong in conviction• Firm / persistent in action or in opposition• Clever at manipulation or propaganda• Intelligent,highly critical,sensitive,emotional• No hero worship• Appreciate seeing violence but not ready to

engage in

Kerala is a Land of Paradoxes

• Mounting fiscal crisis in public coffers• Major percentage of govt spending is unproductive • Growing unemployment / ‘Jobless growth’• High wage rates / low human productivity• Traditional industries are in doldrums• Growing corruption and rent- seeking• Investor unfriendliness / Constant bandhs, red tapism

etc• Inefficiency in services• Low quality of education / low regulatory mechanism

causing problems

Continues …

• Growing population of aged 60+ (10.8 %)• Organized class opposing technologies• Increasing lifestyle diseases• High incidence of suicides (9145 in 2003 / 9244 in

2005) Kerala is third in India• High vehicle accident deaths• High use of alcoholic drinks• Flattening of hills, cutting of trees & filling of fields

for raising concrete structures

Thank You