International meet on local self-governance next year

An international conference on local self-governance would be held here next year with the objective of evaluating the present system of decentralisation.
S Divakaran Pillai, the co-coordinator of the meet said in a release here that the three-day meet would be held from January 13.
Kerala had been credited with implementing decentralisation in an effective manner and it was time to evaluate how the state was now standing in comparison with other countries, Pillai said.
Representatives from various countries had approached the state for studying the positive impact of decentralisation in different social strata of society, he said.
Internationally acclaimed experts in the field of decentralisation would be invited for the meet, especially from SAARC countries, the release said.

State Rural Development Minister K C Joseph and Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali would be the patrons of the conference, to be chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.