Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) has been engaged in the capacity building activities for local governments in Kerala since its establishment in 1990. The Institute is supported by the Government of Kerala, as its nodal institution for training, research and consultancy for the Local Self-Government Institutions. The Institute engages in different capacity building activities of the local governments, both rural and urban.
KILA was established in the pattern of a national institute with the main objective of training, research and consultancy in decentralised governance and administration. With a view to develop it as an institution of excellence, KILA was registered as an autonomous institution under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act 1955. KILA is the only Institution in India that functions with the sole mandate of promoting decentralised governance both in urban and rural areas. As a result of this, efforts are on to establish KILA as an international training centre on local governance and declare KILA as the SAARC centre of excellence in local governance.
The Institute disseminates the insights of research and recommendations of its various training programmes and workshops through a number of publications. In order to meet the training needs of the participants from other Indian states and neighbouring countries KILA has translated several documents in English and other Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada.
KILA actively collaborates with many national and international agencies like Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN-HABITAT, and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) with a motive of deepening local governance. KILA collaborates with the Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance and All India Institute of Local Self Governments, Mumbai to conduct international course in decentralised governance and poverty alleviation.
Location
KILA is situated at Mulamkunnathukavu, 11 km north of Thrissur city on the Thrissur- Shornur Road in a picturesque 20 - acre ampus. The serene and salubrious atmosphere of the campus amidst the scenic landscape of the surrounding hills provides a congenial atmosphere for learning. The nearest International airport, Cochin (Nedeumbaserry) is 65 kms away from KILA. The participants arriving by train can alight at Thrissur railway station. Direct taxi/auto rickshaw and bus services are available to reach KILA campus.
Infrastructural Facilities of KILA
Lecture Halls
KILA has excellent training infrastructural facilities. The training block is a three storied building with seven spacious lecture halls and two air-conditioned conference halls with latest audio-visual equipments like LCD projector, overhead projector, film projector, slide projector, TV, VCR, etc. KILA is having a multi-purpose auditorium that can accommodate 600 persons at a time.
Guest Houses
There are two guest houses in the campus of the Institute for providing boarding and lodging facilities to the participants. These guesthouses have well-furnished rooms for double/single occupancy with attached toilet and bath to accommodate about 200 participants at a time. The participants of national and international programmes are provided with air-conditioned accommodation.
Computer Centre
The institute is equipped with a comprehensive state-of-the-art computer centre with wide range of hardware and software including a file server, forty computers on a Local Area Network (LAN) and shared resources like colour printers, scanners and digital copiers. The high-speed uninterrupted internet access facility is provided to all computers within the Local Area Network. Four training halls were equipped with ceiling mounted multimedia projectors for presentations during the class room sessions as well as for discussions and workshops. A web based Online Monitoring System was initiated for monitoring the training programmes conducted through the district centres and to enabling any one from any where in the world to access details of the training programmes organised by the institute.
Library
The collection of the Library has a particular focus on Panchayati Raj, decentralised planning, poverty alleviation, rural development, urban development, gender in governance etc. The library has a collection of over 10,000 volumes of books and over 200 journals focussing on these thrust areas. Efforts are on the anvil to digitalise the library and to develop it as a full-fledged information centre on local governance, with state of the art facilities like computer and Internet. With this purpose the construction of a new library complex has been initiated. The development of the Library is facilitated by the Library Advisory Committee(LAC).
Recreation
Recreation facilities have been developed in the campus for indoor as well as outdoor games. There is a multipurpose auditorium where participants can play shuttle badminton, chess, etc. The hall is also utilized for cultural programmes.
Garden
KILA is immensely gifted with the beauty of the sprawling lawns, nature's beauty, idyllic landscape and an array of flowering plants . A visitor finds an absolutely peaceful and delightful ambience with the campus in harmony with nature. The lush green beautiful gardens namely Buddha Park, Green Park, Eden Gardens, Shalimar Baag and Vrindavan gardens have a mesmerising effect on the inmates. The atmosphere is ideal for morning and evening walk and jogging.