Makkala Panchayat (2007)

In Coastal Karnataka in South India, fifty six Gram Panchayats (Village Self governing bodies) hold elections to the Makkala Panchayat (Children's Self Governing Bodies), so that the children can form a pressure group to help solve developmental issues that they think are important to them and to their villages. A few years back, such elections were held in five Gram Panchayats and the results in Human development issues were encouraging. One Makkala Panchayat got a high school too their village while another became instrumental in banning illicit liquor from their village!