THRISSUR: Adat panchayat president T Jayalakshmi inaugurated the Panchayat-to-Panchayat learning project as part of the study series on model projects at KILA (Kerala Institute of Local Administration) on Saturday. The session was attended by representatives from three panchayats in Wayanad.Adat has earned the Swaraj honour of model panchayat for eight years, as well as the Nirmal Gram Puraskar for achieving full sanitation by the Central Government. It has also won the Central Water Resources Ministry’s award for groundwater amplification through rain harvesting.Anil Akkara, who had headed the panchayat for 10 years to its present glory, elaborated on the activities carried out by the panchayat. Adat had switched to organic farming as water contamination began affecting around 3,000 acres of Kol wetlands in the region. The Kudumbashree team under the State Women Empowerment Scheme had been carrying out the project, earning around `5,000 each month from farming alone. The panchayat had also set up an iron treatment plant costing around `2 crore with technical assistance from the engineering college in the vicinity. The fund was raised through over 3,500 families which benefited from the project.The Puzhakkal river, which flows through Adat, is clean and the Puzhakkal River Tourism Village is a major attraction. The Panchayat sells about 20 tonnes of rice and over 3,000 kg of oil every month. Twenty representatives from Mullakolli, Thavinjal and Vellamunda panchayats in Wayanad visited Adat, observing its activities and held further discussions on emulating the model with assistance from the faculty at KILA. Representatives from 70 panchayats in Wayanad and Palakkad are visiting KILA this month and in January. The session was chaired by KILA Director P P Balan. Roy Poulose, Wayanad coordinator of the learning series, spoke at the meet along with KILA course director K B Rajan and training associate Pradeep.
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