This paper attempts to study the impact of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in three Grama panchayats of Kasaragod District,namely Madikai, Ajanoor and Trikarpur. It also looks into the organizational arrangements for planning and implementation of the scheme.

Governmental efforts towards fertility reduction often face a dilemma: babies who are planners' worry are also a parent's hope and joy (Mandelbaum 1974:110). The beliefs of the people on this subject and what planners believe ought to be done may on occasion diverge substantially.

Fertility behaviour includes not only biological but also social reproduction, involving a complex network of institutions.