Doughnut Economics Based Budget in Maniyur GP

Maniyur Gram Panchayat Introduces Doughnut Economics–Based Planning in its 2026–27 Annual Budget

Maniyur Gram Panchayat in Kozhikode district from Kerala has presented its Annual Budget for 2026–27 on 2nd March 2026 with a pioneering policy shift toward Doughnut Economics–based planning, marking a significant milestone in decentralized governance in India. This initiative positions the Panchayat as the first local government institution in the country to formally adopt the Doughnut framework as the basis for its development planning.

This innovative transition represents a gradual and evolutionary progression from the People’s Planning Campaign (PPC) initiated in 1996 in Kerala, which institutionalized participatory decentralized planning at the grassroots level. Over the past three decades, Maniyur Panchayat has consistently engaged in participatory planning processes; the 2026–27 budget signifies the next stage in this democratic planning trajectory.

The leadership of the Panchayat has played a critical role in shaping this transformative initiative. The President, Ms. Dinsha K, a postgraduate in Economics, has demonstrated informed vision and sustained commitment in steering the Panchayat toward a theoretically grounded and practically viable planning model. Her academic background in economics has enabled the integration of global development theory with local governance practice. The elected functionaries and officials of the Panchayat have collectively exhibited remarkable dynamism and administrative vibrancy, ensuring that the transition toward Doughnut-based planning is institutionally robust and participatory in spirit.

The proposed planning framework draws upon the theoretical foundations of Doughnut Economics, developed by Professor Kate Raworth. The Doughnut model conceptualizes development within a dual-boundary framework:

·  A social foundation, ensuring that all people meet essential needs such as health, education, livelihood, equity, social justice, employment, etc.

·  An ecological ceiling, which delineates planetary and local environmental limits that must not be exceeded to avoid ecological degradation.

By integrating this framework into Panchayat-level planning, Maniyur aims to address the twin challenges of:

1.    Reducing ecological overshoot, particularly at the level of local ecosystems, and

2.    Fulfilling the felt needs of the community, thereby strengthening social equity and human well-being.

The Panchayat has constituted a competent and forward-looking Planning Committee to steer this exercise. Under the vice-chairmanship of Mr. Ashraf Chalil, the Committee provides strategic direction, institutional coherence, and technical oversight to the planning process. This strong internal governance structure ensures that the Doughnut model is not merely a conceptual adoption but an operational framework embedded within budgeting, implementation, and monitoring systems.

The overarching objective is to expand the “safe and just space for humanity” within the Panchayat—ensuring that development outcomes neither fall short of social necessities nor transgress environmental limits. This reflects a paradigm shift from conventional growth-centric planning to a sustainability-centered, equity-driven local governance model.

The Panchayat has also received voluntary technical and conceptual support from a team led by Dr. Jos Chathukulam of the Centre for Rural Management (CRM). Their engagement has contributed to contextualizing Doughnut Economics within the institutional and socio-ecological realities of a rural local governments in Kerala.

By embedding Doughnut Economics within its annual budgetary framework, Maniyur Gram Panchayat demonstrates how global sustainability theory can be localized through participatory governance mechanisms. This initiative not only strengthens Kerala’s legacy of democratic decentralization but also offers a potential model for other Panchayats and local governments seeking to reconcile social justice with ecological resilience.

In essence, the 2026–27 budget represents not merely a fiscal document, but a transformative planning manifesto—redefining development as the pursuit of collective well-being within ecological limits.