Inaugurating the four-day international conference on 'Democratic Dacentralisation and People's Participation' at Kerala Institute of Local Administration(KILA) here, Association President Dr Isabel da Costa said decentralisation of power had enabled the common man participate in governance of local bodies through meetings of Grama Sabas.
It had helped create employment in rural areas and exploit resources following the local development, she said.
The meet is is being organised jointly by the research committee of the ISA and KILA.
KILA Director Dr P P Balan, who presided, said the main objective of the conference would be to share the experiences in democratic decentralisation and participatory planning to formulate a strategy to further strengthen local government.
Delegates from 20 countries are participating in the event.
About 200 delegations, including over 25 from abroad, would be attending the conference.
