A presentation on divergent aspects of Kerala development and the accompanying paradoxes the state shows.

1. Kerala
A Land of Resources & Development Paradoxes
by
K Rajasekharan
Advocate, Thrissur Bar
Mobile : 9496125452
4th January 2014

2. Map of Kerala with Districts

3. 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

4. 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

5. Kerala at a Glance
AreaSC/ST Population 38863
Population (2011 Census) 334 lakh
Urban Population
Rural
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)

6. 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…..

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

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

11. Kathakali

12. Mohiniattom

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Revenue / Local Administration
Divisions
Revenue Administration
– 14 Districts
– 63 Taluks
– 1634 Villages
Local Administration
Rural
– 14 District Panchayats
– 152 Block Panchayats
– 982 Grama Panchayat
Urban
– 60 Municipalities
– 5 Corporations

21. 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

22. 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
71.4
76.3
62.6
64.2

23. 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

24. A Floursing Private Hospitals & Bettering Public Hospital at
Idukki

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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.

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. Portuguese, Dutch & English influenced Kerala
Architecture

43. 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

44. First Private International Air Port at Kochi

45. 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

46. 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

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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.

50. 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

51. • 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

52. 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

53. 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

54. 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

55. 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

56. 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

57. 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

58. 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

59. • 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

60. 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

61. 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

62. 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

63. 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

64. 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

65. 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

66. 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

67. 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

68. 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

69. 125 year old building of Art Museum at Thiruvananthapuram
The oldest in India established in 1855

70. 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

71. 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

72. 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

73. 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

74. 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

75. 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

76. Thank You