CHAPTER – I

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

When people ask the local administration why they were not given food or land due to them, that is when they are strengthening democracy.By.R.R Prasad and others.

National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD),Hyderabad1. Introduction

There is a growing international consensus concerning the role good governance plays in the attainment of sustainable human development (SHD). UNDP's recently published policy paper on governance defines governance as the "exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of country's affairs at all levels". In an era of increasing globalization, governments play a critical role to ensure economic competitiveness and growth, good governance and sustainable development (UNDP, 2003). A key determinant for successful democratic consolidation is the ability of democratically elected governments to

provide "good governance." There is a growing international consensus concerning the role good governance plays in the attainment of sustainable human development. The goal of governance initiatives should be to develop capacities that are needed to realise development that gives priority to the poor, advances women, sustains the environment and creates needed opportunities for employment and other livelihoods. It is now widely believed that good governance and sustainable human development are indivisible. It is also believed that developing the capacity for good governance can be - and should be - the primary way to eliminate poverty.

The shift toward sustainable human development (SHD) as the commonly accepted paradigm for development is still in the making. But policy-makers in more and more countries are reaching the unavoidable conclusion that development must be people-centered, equitable distributed and environmentally and socially sustainable. As demonstrated by recent Human Development Reports, many countries have managed to improve human development despite economic hardship. However, this progress in human development will not hold unless reinforced by economic growth. New evidence and theory suggest that growth and equity need not be contradictory goals. And there is strong historical evidence that heavy national investment in improving skills and meeting basic social needs has been a springboard for sustained economic growth over the decades. Many countries have been able to foster

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creation of a 'virtuous cycle' where progress in human development has been stimulated by economic growth as well as contributing to it. The recognition that good governance is a condition for sustainable human development makes a primary shift in development thinking. The shift is, to a large extent, influencing strategies for pursuing accountability reforms and improving institutional policy.

Experiences in many developing countries have also shown that there are no automatic links between economic growth and human development. But when these links are forged with the policies, procedures and determination of good governance, they can be mutually reinforcing and economic growth will effectively and rapidly improve human development. Countries that are able to improve governance through increased openness, accountability, and participation will be better positioned to adapt to globalization and achieve more broadly based economic growth.

The term good governance has gained currency for two main reasons. Firstly, it has shown that improving standard of living of the masses in the developing countries, is not in any way related to the amount of development aid they receive. Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Sierre Leone and Madagascar are just some stellar examples. It has been realized that strong, effective and accountable institutions - in the government, in the private sector, in the civil

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society – are crucial for rooted, relevant and sustainable efforts in improving the lives of the masses.

Human development is defined by the UNDP as expanding the choices for all people in society. This means that men and women - particularly the poor and vulnerable - are at the centre of the development process. It also means; protection of the life opportunities of future generations ... and ... the natural systems on which all life depends. This makes the central purpose of development the creation of an enabling environment in which all can enjoy long, healthy and creative lives.

Economic growth is a means to sustainable human development - not an end in itself. Human Development Report 1996 showed that economic growth does not automatically lead to sustainable human development and the elimination of poverty. For example, countries that do well when ranked by per capita income often slip down the ladder when ranked by the human development index. There are, moreover, marked disparities within countries - rich and poor alike - and these become striking when human development among indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities is evaluated separately.

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There are five aspects to sustainable human development - all affecting the lives of the poor and vulnerable:

Empowerment - The expansion of men and women's capabilities and choices increases their ability to exercise those choices free of hunger, want and deprivation. It also increases their opportunity to participate in, or endorse, decision-making affecting their lives.

Co-operation - With a sense of belonging important for personal fulfillment, well-being and a sense of purpose and meaning, human development is concerned with the ways in which people work together and interact.

Equity - The expansion of capabilities and opportunities means more than income - it also means equity, such as an educational system to which everybody should have access.

Sustainability - The needs of this generation must be met without compromising the right of future generations to be free of poverty and deprivation and to exercise their basic capabilities.

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Security - Particularly the security of livelihood. People need to be freed from threats, such as disease or repression and from sudden harmful disruptions in their lives.

All development strategies should focus on four critical elements of sustainable human development: eliminating poverty, creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods, protecting and regenerating the environment, and promoting the advancement of women. Developing the capacities for good governance underpins all these objectives.

1.1. What are the fundamental principles of democratic governance?

There are clearly many different forms of democratic governance. Democratic societies vary a great deal in terms of the institutions and procedures that characterise their specific governance systems. Academic debate around the meaning of democratic governance shows increasing awareness of the multiple ways in which different societies give shape to democracy. As such, the meaning of democracy cannot be derived from dominant Western models: it is a concept that is evolving over time as societies grapple with its implementation and practice.

On the other hand, it does not seem useful to suggest that democratic governance has no

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identifiable underlying principles. Adopting a position that ‘anything goes’ under democratic governance will not necessarily advance the evolution of the concept, nor its practice in different contexts. What then, if any, could be considered as fundamental principles of democratic governance? In developing a Democracy Index, Robert Mattes and Richard Calland (Idasa 2002) suggest the following principles:

Consensus on the need for democratic governance: agreeing to ‘the rules of the game’ Participation in popular self-government Popular selection of decision-makers Popular control over decision-makers Protecting citizens’ equality and their ability to control representatives An ability to influence the process of addressing economic and social inequality.

1.2. Attributes of Good Governance

Good governance concerns integrity, efficiency, effectiveness and economy of government in meeting the ends to which government organization and activity are directed. Good governance has many attributes:

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It is among other things, participatory, transparent, accountable It is effective in making the best use of resources It is equitable and promotes the rule of law It includes the State, civil society and the private sector (UNDP, 2003).

Governance includes the state, but transcends it by taking in the private sector and civil society. All three domains are critical for sustaining human development. The state creates a conducive political and legal environment, the private sector generates jobs and income and civil society facilitates political and social interaction and mobilizes groups to participate in economic, social and political activities.

1.3. Accountability and Transparency in Governance

1.3.1 What is accountability?

Across the world, we find citizens are mobilizing, often locally, to demand better services. Not by shouting, but by counting. Making sure their governments spend effectively, and keep their promises. It is not just about people protesting and making noise. This new approach to

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citizen action actually involves systematic analysis and intelligent use of data, making sure their governments spend effectively and keep their promises.

These citizens are demanding accountability from their public institutions. At the heart of this is getting and using critical information about budgets, expenditures, corruption, performance, etc. the new breed of citizen voice is thus about using information in a way that can lead to results.

The concept of accountability – referring to the ways by which individuals or groups are held responsible for their actions – has become a buzzword in recent years, enjoying broad currency in debates that extend beyond the narrow disciplines of political theory and corporate governance. Concerns about accountability are increasingly being raised, from a variety of quarters, in relation to the burgeoning ‘third sector’ of civil society organisations (CSOs) and popular social movements, whose role in contributing to and shaping public life in communities around the world can no longer be ignored.

Accountability can be defined as the obligation of power-holders to account for or take responsibility for their actions. “Power-holders” refers to those who hold political, financial or other forms of power and include officials in government, private corporations, international

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financial institutions and civil society organizations. We are concerned specifically on the accountability of government actors toward citizens and, in particular, toward poor people. This accountability is a consequence of the implicit ‘social compact’ between citizens and their delegated representatives and agents in a democracy. A fundamental principle of democracy is that citizens have the right to demand accountability and public actors have an obligation to account. As Mulgan (2000) has stated, “those calling for an account are asserting rights of superior authority over those who are accountable”. Government officials and bureaucrats are accountable for their (i) conduct and (ii) performance. In other words, they can and should be held accountable to (i) obey the law and not abuse their powers, and (ii) serve the public interest in an efficient, effective and fair manner.

Promoting accountability is an important part of protecting and advancing the public interest. Accountability might be understood as part of a broader value system that guides interaction between citizens, between government officials and members of the public seeking assistance or information, between service-providers and beneficiaries, employers and employees and so forth. For example, where there is a culture of accountability, a government official may make a point of reporting back regularly to a community about progress in establishing a promised health care clinic in their area, even though no law or regulation enforces such communication.

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Accountability is a cornerstone of democratic practice. There are many different levels at which accountability may be expected to exist in a democratic society. Here are three examples:

1. When citizens elect a person or party to represent them in parliament (or any political decision-making body), they should be able to hold these leaders accountable for the promises they made at election time. In some countries, there is a right to recall elected representatives if they do not act in accordance with the needs and interests of those who elected them. But in most countries, citizens do not have formal mechanisms to enforce the accountability of their representatives between elections. They do, however, have the power to lobby and protest - and not to re-elect those who have let them down.

2. Elected representatives, in turn, have the right and duty to hold the executive accountable. In many democratic systems, there is a legal obligation on the executive arm of government to explain and justify its decisions and the implementation of these in terms of the responsibilities conferred on it. Legislatures play a critical role in securing accountability when they exercise oversight of government on behalf of citizens. They have the task of making sure that the executive is implementing agreed policies and spending public money raised through taxes. In this way, the executive is accountable to elected politicians – within the legislatures – for fulfilling its functions.

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3. Democratic societies may also have – or nurture – a culture of accountability. In this sense, accountability might be understood as part of a broader value system that guides interaction between citizens, between government officials and members of the public seeking assistance or information, between service-providers and beneficiaries, employers and employees and so forth. For example, where there is a culture of accountability, a government official may make a point of reporting back regularly to a community about progress in establishing a promised health care clinic in their area, even though no law or regulation enforces such communication.

Accountability is a complex notion regardless of the actor or entity to which it is applied. The notion of accountability is particularly complex in relation to civil society organizations (CSOs), however, because of the multiplicity of actors with whom civil society engages and to whom it is therefore accountable. We can speak of ‘upward’ accountability (to funders, donors, governments or other external actors, often in the context of accounting for resources or the fulfilment of particular service targets) and ‘downward’ accountability (to constituents such as community groups, activists, or other beneficiaries of CSO activity). Some also speak of ‘horizontal’ accountability to refer to the relationship that exists between civil society actors, who see themselves as part of a public process rather than part of a competitive culture (as is the case within the business community).

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All states have some form of mechanisms in place to promote or ensure accountability of public servants. Systems of accountability that are internal to the state are often referred to as “horizontal” mechanisms of accountability (Schedler et al. 1999). These include: (i) political mechanisms (e.g., constitutional constraints, separation of powers, the legislature and legislative investigative commissions); (ii) fiscal mechanisms (e.g., formal systems of auditing and financial accounting); (iii) administrative mechanisms (e.g., hierarchical reporting, norms of public sector probity, public service codes of conduct, rules and procedures regarding transparency and public oversight), and; (iv) legal mechanisms (e.g., corruption control agencies, ombudsmen and the judiciary) (Goetz and Gaventa, 2001).

Accountability has a certain reflexive quality: we can think of CSO accountability in terms of its ‘external’ dimension (striving to meet certain established standards of conduct) and in terms of its ‘internal’ dimension (self-motivated efforts to act in concert with organisational mission and values to attain prescribed goals). CSO accountability can also be thought of in both functional and strategic terms, where functional accountability is concerned with concrete requirements, such as accounting for expended resources and registering immediate

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accomplishments, and where strategic accountability focuses upon measuring the longer-term impact of an organisation’s work upon the larger environment. 1

There are a range of accountability mechanisms that are being used by civil society groups to proactively and self-critically take responsibility for their organisational structures, operations, policies and activities. These tools are far from mutually exclusive and, in many instances, combinations of these techniques are integrated in order to meet the different demands of ‘upwards’ and ‘downward’ accountability. These include:

Self-regulation mechanisms, such as voluntary (or certified) compliance with codes of ethics or codes of conduct. National NGO networks in a dozen countries have undergone thorough participatory processes to articulate the standards expected of NGOs, ranging from transparent governance structures to hiring practices and communications policies. The idea behind such self-regulation mechanisms is that the sector itself should be actively engaged in promoting a certain set of values and norms as part of maintaining a public reputation for professionalism and high ethical behaviour. One of the main criticisms levelled at self-regulation approaches is the ‘non-enforceability’ of such mechanisms; however certain

1 Ebrahim, Alnoor, ‘Accountability in Practice: Mechanisms for NGOs,’ in World Development, vol. 31, no. 5, 2003. p. 814.

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models, such as the one adopted in the Philippines, involve a certification process whereby teams of evaluators are empowered to grant or revoke certification to CSOs.

Governing boards, comprised of individuals external to the organisation, that are selected by and operate according to clearly defined and transparent procedures. The specific tasks of governing boards vary, but they are generally intended to act as guardians of the interests of the organisation’s membership or constituency, while also ensuring that the organisation operates in a way that is in compliance with both statutory obligations and in accordance with its own mission and values.

Standards for disclosure and public reporting, are determined in some countries by national legislation, but are adopted by CSOs in other contexts on a voluntary basis. Vehicles such as annual reports, organisational or project evaluations, strategic plans based on external assessments, and regular communications (newsletters, updates, briefs) can provide channels for public access to information about the organisation’s work, financial status, governance structure and operational impact.

Consultative and participatory mechanisms, that allow for the meaningful involvement of diverse constituencies (including beneficiaries) in the organisation’s work, from project planning to evaluations.

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There are also two critical ‘built-in’ accountability mechanisms that bear mentioning. The first is the principle of ‘perform or perish:’ not a single cent secured to undertake CSO activities is secured on the basis of obligation. Whether funding is derived from a government agency, individual donor, foundation, business organisation or multilateral institution, resources will not continue to be available if the CSO is not performing on the basis of its vision, mission and objectives. (Moreover, sanctions are easily imposed if even basic accountability requirements are not met.) In contrast, most governments, and inter-governmental organisations, to a lesser extent, are guaranteed a steady revenue flow from taxation or from other countries’ annual member contributions.

A second ‘built-in’ mechanism concerns the effectiveness of civil society advocacy efforts. Civil society groups that do not have credibility, genuine links to the grassroots level, and expertise around an issue are automatically limited in their effectiveness when it comes to advocacy. This is a reflection of the ‘internal’ drive for accountability that characterises many CSOs – a sense of responsibility deriving from within the group which pushes it to act in concert with its articulated mission and values in making a meaningful contribution to the vision for which the organisation exists.

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1.3.2 What is social accountability? Social accountability can be defined as an approach towards building accountability that

relies on civic engagement, i.e., in which it is ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations who participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability. Mechanisms of social accountability can be initiated and supported by the state, citizens or both, but very often they are demand-driven and operate from the bottom-up. Social accountability mechanisms are sometimes referred to as “external” or “vertical” mechanisms of accountability (in contrast to the more conventional “internal” or “horizontal” mechanisms of accountability discussed above).

The concept of accountability applies equally well to all levels of government and to public services and other agencies that deliver public services to citizens (Paul, 1996). Accountability stands on three integral pillars: financial, political and administrative. Financial accountability is the obligation of anyone handling resources, public office or any other position of trust, to report on the intended and actual use of the resources or of the designated office. This includes ensuring transparency in the process to achieve that obligation. Administrative accountability includes critical systems of control internal to the government, which complements and ensures the proper functioning of checks and balances supplied by the constitutional government and engaged citizenry. These include civil service standards and

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incentives, ethics codes, criminal penalties, and administrative review. Political accountability, most fundamentally found in an election, is another effective form of oversight. In an electoral democracy, people have a regular, open method for sanctioning or rewarding those who hold positions of public trust. One mechanism to achieve this more specific oversight is to have the two political branches (executive and legislative) watch over each other. In addition, separating the institution that raises and spends funds from that which actually executes the spending decision helps ensure that the underlying public interest is served.

An important complementary principle to accountability, transparency comprises all means of facilitating the citizen’s access to information and also his/her understanding of decision-making mechanisms. Transparency is built on the free flow of information: processes, institutions and information should be directly accessible to those concerned with them, and enough information should be provided to understand and monitor them. Public sector transparency begins with the application of clear standards. Development programmes should be accountable to those who supply the resources, no doubt, but also to the intended beneficiaries. And nobody has a greater interest in results than those whom the programme is intended to benefit.

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Integrity is a key element that completes the notion of accountability and transparency in governance. It is defined as incorruptibility, an unimpaired condition of soundness, and is synonymous to honesty. In terms of public service, integrity requires that holders of public office should not place themselves under financial and other obligation to outside individuals or organizations that may influence them in the performance of their official duties. Integrity is not an end in itself rather a path leading to the effective delivery of the services and performance of functions which the public is entitled to receive from those who govern them.

Accountability and transparency are indispensable pillars of good governance that compel the state, private sector and civil society to focus on results, seek clear objectives, develop effective strategies, and monitor and report on performance. Through accountability and transparency, governments (together with civil society and the private sector) can achieve congruence between public policy, its implementation and the efficient allocation of resources. The absence of accountability and transparency in governance results, among others, in the misuse or misallocation of resources. It can lead to inefficiency, waste, and corruption, and even impede development In many cases, it can also breed injustice and violate human rights. It causes political discontent and social unrest if left unchecked (CONTACT, 2003).

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Traditionally, efforts to tackle the challenge of accountability have tended to concentrate on improving the “supply-side” of governance using methods such as political checks and balances, administrative rules and procedures, auditing requirements, and formal law enforcement agencies like courts and the police. These “top-down” accountability promoting mechanisms have met with only limited success in many countries – be they developed or developing. More recently, increased attention has been paid to the “demand side” of good governance – that is to strengthening the voice and capacity of citizens (especially poor citizens) to directly demand greater accountability and responsiveness from public officials and service providers. Enhancing the ability of citizens to engage with public servants and politicians in a more informed, direct and constructive manner is called as social accountability practices.

Why is social accountability important?

There are three main arguments underlying the importance of social accountability – improved governance, increased development effectiveness, and empowerment.

Each is discussed below. First, the issue of governance. Accountability of public officials is the cornerstone of good government and a prerequisite for an effective democracy. At the present time, when notions of citizens’ rights and responsibilities are evolving and expanding,

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relations between citizens and their governments are characterized by what some have termed “a crisis of legitimacy” (Gaventa, 2002) or simply a “governance crisis” (Paul 2002). Citizens in both the North and South express growing disillusionment with their governments – citing a lack of responsiveness, abuse of discretion, corruption, favoritism and weak accountability on the part of public officials and bureaucrats. (Commonwealth Foundation, 1999, Narayan et al. 2000). Especially in developing country contexts, the effectiveness of conventional “horizontal” mechanisms of accountability has proved limited. As discussed above, elections, the principal traditional “vertical” mechanism of accountability, have also proved a weak and blunt instrument for holding government officials and employees accountable for specific actions. Social accountability mechanisms allow ordinary citizens to access information, voice their needs, and demand accountability between elections. Emerging social accountability practices enhance the ability of citizens to move beyond mere protest toward engaging with bureaucrats and politicians in a more informed, organized, constructive and systematic manner, thus increasing the chances of effecting positive change.

Social accountability also contributes to increased development effectiveness. This is achieved through improved public service delivery and more informed policy design. In

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many countries, especially developing ones, the government fails to deliver key essential services to its citizens due to problems such as: misallocation of resources, leakages/corruption, weak incentives or a lack of articulated demand. Similarly, governments often formulate policies in a discretionary and non-transparent manner that goes against the interests and actual priorities of the poor. These problems are perpetuated because the three key groups of actors in the public policy and service delivery chain-policy makers, service providers and citizens have different (sometimes conflicting) goals and incentives, compounded by information asymmetries and lack of communication. By enhancing the availability of information, strengthening citizen voice, promoting dialogue and consultation between the three groups of actors and creating incentives for improved performance, social accountability mechanisms can go a long way toward improving the effectiveness of service delivery and making public decision-making more transparent, participatory and pro-poor. Since poor people are most reliant on government services and least equipped to hold government officials to account, they have the most to gain from social accountability initiatives.

Finally, social accountability initiatives can lead to empowerment, particularly of poor people. While there is no single definition of empowerment, at its broadest, it can be understood as the expansion of freedom of choice and action. 18 Research shows that poor

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people’s dissatisfaction with government relates largely to issues of responsiveness and accountability. Poor people report that state institutions are “often neither responsive nor accountable to the poor” and “not accountable to anyone or accountable only to the rich and powerful” (Narayan et al. 2000, pp. 172 and 177). By providing critical information on rights and entitlements and soliciting systematic feedback from poor people, social accountability mechanisms provide a means to increase and aggregate the voice of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. This enhanced voice empowers the poor and increases the chance of greater responsiveness on the part of the state to their needs. That said, reaching out to poor people with the support they need to initiate their own social accountability actions and ensuring that social accountability mechanisms are designed in the interest of the poorest (and not “captured” by more powerful groups) are key challenges of effective, pro-poor social accountability.

Social Accountability is a Right the Right to Know the Right to Question the Right to Participate the Right to Better Services the Right to Stop Corruption

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the Right to End Poverty the Right to Demand that Commitments are RespectedSome working notions of accountability

Accountability (narrow sense) A widely used definition of accountability is ‘the means by which individuals and organizations report to a recognised authority (or authorities) and are held responsible for their actions’ (Edwards and Hulme 1996, quoted from Mulgan 2000). This definition includes several underpinning notions:

• it is external: ‘account to some external authority’;• it involves social interaction and exchange: ‘being answerable to someone and accepting of sanctions’; and• it implies rights of authority: ‘to call someone to account, demand answers and impose sanctions’.

Accountability (widely used) denotes a relationship between a rights holder or a legitimate claim (for instance a public good) and the agents or agencies responsible for fulfilling or respecting that right by taking specific action, or desisting from particular actions (duty

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bearers). In rights-based language, accountability relates to the responsiveness of the ‘duty bearers’ and the voice of ‘rights holders’ to articulate their needs and claim their rights.

Voice refers to the strength of the impetus decision makers or duty bearers receive from rights holders. Responsiveness refers to the way in which a development agent – public or private – perceives the needs and responds to the demands of particular groups, such as the poor.

Vertical accountability denotes the direct relationship between citizens and their representatives holding public office primarily through the electoral process but also through more direct forms of participation and civic engagement.

Horizontal accountability refers to mechanisms through which different state institutions hold each other to account on behalf of the people. Horizontal accountability primarily implies the executive being answerable to the legislature, the courts, and special agencies of restraint, e.g. human rights commissions; ombudsmen/public protectors; auditors-general; independent electoral commissions; independent central banks; independent revenue authorities; and anticorruption agencies.

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Upward accountability is the answerability of lower ranks to a higher-level authority, for instance a local administration which is accountable to a line ministry.

Downward accountability is the answerability of higher ranks to a lower-level authority, for instance a line ministry which is accountable for support to extension services.

Social accountability denotes the answerability of organisations to the people. It pertains primarily to public administration but can equally mean the accountability of development partners to ultimate beneficiaries in developing countries.

Mutual accountability denotes a reciprocal accountability relationship based on the notion of a contract. It has become an important concept in particular in the aid relationship. The Paris Declaration stipulates that ‘Donors and partners are accountable for development results: A major priority for partner countries and donors is to enhance mutual accountability and transparency in the use of development resources. This also helps strengthen public support for national policies and development assistance’.

Outward accountability describes the accountability of domestic development agents to external donors and development partners, sometimes in tension with, or at the expense of,

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their domestic accountabilities.

Domestic accountability denotes the range of domestic accountability relationships (see vertical, horizontal, downward, upward and social).Source: capacity.org Issue 31, August 2007

1.4. Role of auditing in public finance management

Over the years, auditing has retained its significance in public finance and, as such, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) receive constitutional recognition in many countries around the world. As watchdogs of public finances, the public auditors act as critical links in enforcing the accountability of executive agencies to national and state legislatures and through them to the general public. The public sector auditor reviews financial management of public sector entities to ensure that transactions have been undertaken with due regard to propriety and regularity.

Auditing is an integral part of an institutional framework supporting good governance and the realization of a country’s welfare measures and poverty eradication goals. Social welfare programs and other targeted poverty eradication programs in developing countries are

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characterized by their access to limited resources. To achieve their goals, therefore, these programmes depend greatly on the efficient and effective utilization of these limited resources. Within this framework, the role of the public auditor in monitoring the utilization of program resources is critical. A vigilant auditor can contribute greatly to the achievement of social development programs by limiting corruption and strengthening the accountability of responsible agencies.

Modern day public auditors perform a variety of audits aimed at satisfying different financial management goals. Financial audits assess the accuracy and fairness of both the accounting procedures utilized by a government agency and the financial statements reported by the agency. Compliance audits assess whether funds were used for the purposes for which they were appropriated and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Performance audits analyze cost-effectiveness (economy), operational efficiency, and the general effectiveness of government programs in achieving their objectives. There has been a trend in recent years among SAIs toward increasing the number of performance audits as these audits are seen as revealing more about the effectiveness of government operations. However, a comprehensive audit framework requires that all three types of audits (financial, compliance, and performance) be combined to provide a complete overview of public financial management.

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1.4.1 Institutional Weaknesses in SAIs

Despite its critical role in enforcing accountability, SAIs are beset by severe institutional and operational limitations. In some countries, SAIs are not created by legislation that provides adequate independence and freedom from executive interference. Even in cases in which SAIs have sufficient auditing mandates10, they may lack additional investigative powers to enable them to follow-up on apparent violations and ensure the prosecution of relevant agencies or individuals. Similarly, SAIs in many countries do not have adequate powers to decide what should be audited or how the audit findings should be presented. In many developing countries, SAIs lack skilled staff to perform the tasks expected of a modern auditor, such as detecting fraud using information technology. Similarly, financial constraints on SAIs often mean that they lack adequate infrastructure (office space, computers, and vehicles for transport), which further hampers the effective conduct of their work.

In many countries, SAIs report their findings to legislatures and particularly the public accounts committee (PAC) within legislatures. Due to time constraints, the PAC is able to consider only some of the audit reports11 and audit findings — and poor coordination with the SAI may prevent the PAC from taking up the most critical findings. The audit reports in these

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cases are then shelved and no action is taken against agencies or individuals that have broken the law or committed fraud.

The Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts was adopted at the Ninth International Conference of SAIs in Peru in 1977. This declaration sets out the internationally accepted basic tenets of public sector auditing, including emphasizing the need for SAIs to have independence from the executive, defining the audit powers that should be granted to SAIs, detailing the relationship that SAIs should have with the executive and with the legislature, and explaining the nature of the reporting that should be carried out.

In 2001, more than two decades after the adoption of the Lima Declaration, the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) published the results of a survey conducted in 113 member countries (excluding the European Organization of SAIs, which had previously been surveyed). Using the parameters set out in the Lima Declaration, the survey examined the independence (or lack thereof) of SAIs in each country. The INTOSAI Task Force report summarizes its findings by stating, “…it can be concluded that

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a considerable number of the SAIs surveyed are not really in a position to fulfill their mandates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts”.”

In 2004, the IBP conducted a survey in 36 developing countries (drawn largely from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America) to assess transparency in national budgetary processes. The survey focused in part on key issues concerning public disclosures of audit findings. Respondents in each of the countries covered in the survey were experts drawn from civil society organizations. The results of the IBP survey reinforce the concerns that the earlier INTOSAI survey highlighted regarding the institutional and other weaknesses of SAIs in many countries. As the responses to the survey cited below show, public audit systems can often exclude civil society organizations – and, in some cases, even national legislatures – from effectively discussing major audit findings.

Accessibility: The results of the IBP survey show that not all the annual audit reports are made public. In 12 of the countries surveyed, citizens did not have access to the auditor’s reports even though the reports were produced in 11 of these countries.17 In 19 of the countries surveyed, the year-end audit reports of departmental expenditures that are released to the public do not include an executive summary.

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Timing: Only 6 of the 36 countries included in the IBP survey reported that the SAI produced its attestation report within six months of the end of the fiscal year as recommended by The OECD Best Practices for Budget Transparency. In 15 countries, final audited accounts of national departments are either not completed within two years after the end of the fiscal year or are not released to the public; in 8 countries, final audit accounts are released more than a year after the end of the fiscal year.

Comprehensiveness: In 19 of the countries surveyed by IBP, the SAI either does not release to the public reports of audits of extra-budgetary funds or it does not audit such funds. No audit report is viewed or scrutinized by a committee of the legislature in 4 countries, while in 11 countries only some of the reports are viewed and scrutinized.

Follow-up: In 7 of the countries surveyed by IBP, the executive does not report (either to the legislature or publicly) on the steps it has taken to address audit recommendations nor does it release findings that indicate a need for remedial action. In 23 of the countries surveyed by IBP, neither the SAI nor the legislature release to the public a report that tracks actions taken by the executive to address audit recommendations.

It is thus obvious that in their current form, audits do not always provide a direct measure of government performance in those specific areas in which citizens have the greatest interest. For example, the citizen might be interested in measuring the performance of the

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government on health policy. The usual methodology employed by the government auditor when auditing the health department will comment on the veracity of the funds expended for health programs but will rarely comment on the appropriateness of the government’s health policy. How then can a citizen measure whether health programs reflect health policy – and whether the underlying health policy responds adequately to the nation’s health needs?

There are two ways to increase the ability of audits to provide information on government performance that is directly relevant to citizens. First, the scope of audit mandates can be increased and audit methodologies developed that will enable auditors to offer some comments on the government policies that underpin agency performance. A second way to improve the ability of audits to provide information directly relevant to citizens is by allowing citizens to participate in the conduct of audits. As citizens will look for specific measures of performance, they will use their access to (and participation in) audit institutions to obtain information on those measures that they are interested in reviewing. Allowing citizen participation in audits will require that audit institutions create spaces in which citizens can meaningfully participate in audit programs and thereby obtain specific measures of government performance.

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The audit sector faces substantial challenges. Returning to the spirit and practice of ‘audire’ — the public hearings of accounts — will assist the sector in meeting several of these challenges. Greater collaboration between SAIs and civil society organizations can assist SAIs in overcoming some of the challenges that they face. An enhanced partnership between SAIs and civil society organizations will also help to insert the practice of audire – the public ‘hearing’ (meaning examination) of government accounts – into public auditing. It is not argued that civil society organizations can replace formal audit institutions. Instead, it si felt that greater interaction between SAIs and civil society organizations is likely to lead to stronger budgetary oversight by both sets of institutions – and that this interaction will strengthen a country’s governance framework and the effectiveness and efficiency of its antipoverty programs.

1.5 Barriers to Accountability

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There are two sets of barriers, one that could weaken the power of voice and the other that can render the compact ineffective. Voice, for example, will not work when citizens/clients do not have the necessary information or knowledge to make it effective. This can happen when people have limited knowledge in a specific area and are therefore unable to digest new information and make use of it. Even if they are educated, but have no access to information, then again the outcome will be no different. Thus, governments can create barriers to voice by denying people knowledge about their rights and entitlements, and standards and norms pertaining to services. Even when such information is available, if citizens do not have a sufficient background for understanding this information, it can potentially act as a barrier to voice. The poor often tend to suffer from this handicap.

There are equally important barriers to collective action as a form of voice. Collective action calls for time, organizational skills, and resources. It requires capacity to identify key issues and knowledge about possible remedies. The poor typically are weak in terms of these capabilities. When they are struggling to survive, they may neither have the ability nor the incentive to invest in collective action. It is the reason why intermediary organizations (such as NGOs) enter the scene and organize the poor and marginalized communities. Collective action is easier to organize for the better off sections of society. Nevertheless, it is an uphill task even for them because of the “free rider” problem and the indifferent characteristic of many middle

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class citizens who seek easy exits. It is not uncommon, for example, for people to pay a bribe to get their work done.

Barriers to information and collective action could render voice ineffective when citizens try to influence service providers directly (the short route). Delivery of services to the poor and the accountability of the providers to the people will not improve under these conditions. To conclude, unless the barriers to information and collective action are somehow eliminated, and citizens’ voice is strengthened enough to weaken the grip of collusion and corruption in the machinery of government, it is unrealistic to expect that public accountability will improve.

The civil society initiatives for accountability presented below fall into five categories: (1) community management of local services, (2) independent budget analysis and tracking, (3) public hearings, (4) public interest litigation, and (5) citizen report cards on services. A brief description of each follows.

a) Community Management of Local Services

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There are many public services that lend themselves to direct monitoring and supervision by local communities. In many cases, citizens and users of the services could participate in aspects of managing and monitoring such services. A good example is the local school where the parent-teacher association could actively participate in planning and supervising the school programs. Similarly, the maintenance of drinking water facilities and community toilets has benefited from the participation of user groups. A recent case from the slums of Mumbai, India has shown how local communities have pitched in to manage and maintain the newly built toilet facilities. NGOs and local communities have played a lead role in this project and the government has funded it through a World Bank project.

The initiative for community management has come largely from NGOs working in the field in local communities. Their primary interest is in promoting community participation in local development programs and services so as to make them more relevant to the people and more sustainable. But it turns out that such participation is also a powerful means to hold the government or service provider accountable to the people. When the latter influence the design of a service and monitor its delivery or contribute to the maintenance of public facilities, they have a strong interest in ensuring that the agencies involved are responsive to their problems and needs. Being closer to the scene and with a seat at the table, they can

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observe and challenge abuses and poor performance. Community management of local services can thus act as an aid to accountability, and to a large extent, compensate for the inherent problems in monitoring local activities that higher level officials encounter. In several countries, governments and international donors are now encouraging and facilitating community management of public services and facilities.

b) Independent Budget Analysis and Tracking

Budgets are the basic instrument of governments to mobilize, allocate and monitor scarce resources (money and personnel). By bringing government budgets under public scrutiny, civil society groups are able to raise important questions about taxation, public expenditure, and the distribution of benefits to different groups of people. This initiative, of course, calls for special skills in terms of analysis and evaluation. Examples of civil society groups engaging in budget analysis and using the findings for advocacy are therefore not many. But wherever it has been attempted, the process has resulted in informing and educating both the people and the authorities (legislators and officials) on the implications of the allocations and on the need to modify them to achieve the stated policy objectives. Budget analysis can also be used to advocate reforms, especially with reference to the poor, as their interests are seldom adequately addressed in the complex bargaining processes behind the budgetary allocations.

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A classic case of such budget analysis where citizens are actively involved comes from Porto Alegre, Brazil. Here communities participate by articulating their needs and priorities. This is an open process that helps the government to listen to the people’s voice and arrive at allocations that take into account public concerns. Needless to say, the process presupposes a government that is inclined to listen and seek ideas from the people. It is also a time consuming process that calls for a great deal of involvement by community groups. Broad based budget analysis has been carried out in South Africa under the auspices of a local NGO. The International Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington DC is engaged in strengthening civil society capabilities to undertake budget analysis in developing countries.

A more limited form of budget analysis has been attempted by DISHA, an NGO in the Indian state of Gujarat. The focus here has been on analysis of the budget from the standpoint of the poor, especially the tribal population. The findings are used by the NGO to engage in dialogues with elected representatives and officials. The findings are publicized through the media in order to create public support for the proposals made by the NGO.

A third example is from Africa where public expenditure tracking has been attempted to monitor the effectiveness of public spending on services for the poor. The World Bank has led

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this effort in Uganda and other countries, but the approach lends itself to be used as an initiative to increase accountability. Budget analysis, of course, is primarily a means to improve the process of resource allocation by governments and to nudge them to be effective. But when civil society groups engage governments in this exercise, it can act as a force for greater public accountability.

c) Public Hearings

Public hearings are a well-known mechanism for eliciting the views and concerns of the people on a variety of issues. Regulatory agencies use this approach in the determination of tariff rates and other policies. In recent years, NGOs and other civil society groups have organized public hearings as a means to demand increased public accountability towards the poor and marginalized communities. Being an open process, it attracts the attention of the media and lends itself to being used as an aid to advocacy to improve the conditions of the poor. NGOs act as intermediaries in the process as the poor are not equipped with the skills and organization necessary to make a success of public hearings. When people face highly localized problems, it is possible to stimulate the poor to participate in public hearings.

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A documented case from India narrates how MKSS, an NGO based in Rajasthan, India used public hearings in rural areas to publicize the abuses in public employment programs. This adverse publicity led to the authorities taking corrective action that benefited the local communities. It also gave a strong push to the right to information movement that was gaining momentum in the country in the early 1990s. Public hearings were used in this case to demand accountability in the programs that are supposed to benefit the poor. In the absence of the resultant pressure, abuses in the employment program might have continued unabated.

d) Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

Public interest litigation refers to legal action taken in a court of law for enforcing the public interest or to protect the legal rights and liabilities of the public or a community of people. The term, PIL, was first used in the USA in the 1960s to describe a legal development that sought to widen civic participation in governance. In some developing countries like India, PIL has been widely used to get the courts to direct governments to take corrective steps to restore the rights and entitlements of the poor. An independent judiciary and a democratic constitution are essential prerequisites for PIL to succeed. PIL is a potent accountability mechanism when the executive and legislative branches of government are unable or unwilling to protect the rights and entitlements of the poor. Individual citizens, especially the

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poor, will find it difficult to resort to PIL to hold the government accountable for the denial of their rights simply because of the time and costs involved. As in public hearings, it is NGOs and organized civic groups that make use of PIL in most countries.

e) Citizen Report Cards – An Accountability Tool

A citizen report card (CRC) is a new way to rate different service providers from a user perspective and to utilize this information to make the providers more accountable to the people. User feedback is a cost effective way for a government to find out whether its services are reaching the people, especially the poor. Users of a public service can tell the government a lot about the quality and value of a service. Surprisingly, this is not a method that is known to or used by most developing country governments. The continuing neglect of the quality of services is in part a consequence of this gap. This is in sharp contrast to the practice of seeking “customer feedback" that is common in the competitive market place.

A CRC on public services is not just one more opinion poll. Report cards reflect the actual experience of people with a wide range of public services. The survey on which a report card is based covers only those who have had experiences in the use of specific services and interactions with the relevant public agencies or other aspects of public services. Users

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possess fairly accurate information, for example, on whether a public agency actually solved their problems or whether they had to pay bribes to officials. Of course, errors of recall cannot be ruled out. But the large numbers of responses that sample surveys generate lend credibility to the findings. Stratified random sample surveys using well structured questionnaires are the basis on which report cards are prepared. It is generally assumed that people from similar backgrounds in terms of education, culture, etc., are likely to use comparable standards in their assessments. But these standards may be higher for higher income groups than for the poor whose expectations about public services tend to be much lower. Dividing households into relatively homogenous categories is one way to minimize the biases that differing expectations can cause.

The Public Affairs Centre (PAC), founded in Bangalore, has taken initiative to prepare CRCs. The first report card on Bangalore’s public agencies in 1994 covered municipal services, water supply, electricity, telecom, and transport. Since then, PAC has brought out report cards on several other cities, rural services and also on specific sectoral services such as health care. The findings of the first CRC on Bangalore were most striking. Almost all of the public service providers received low ratings from the people. Agencies were rated and compared in terms of public satisfaction, corruption, and responsiveness. The media publicity that the findings received and the public discussions that followed brought the issue of public services out in

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the open. Civil society groups began to organize themselves to voice their demands for better performance. Some of the public agencies responded to these demands and took steps to improve their services. The inter-agency comparisons and the associated public glare seem to have contributed to this outcome. When the second report card on Bangalore came out in 1999, these improvements were reflected in the somewhat better ratings that the agencies received. Still several agencies remained indifferent and corruption levels continued to be high.

The third CRC on Bangalore in 2003 has shown a surprising turnaround in the city’s services. It noted a remarkable rise in the citizen ratings of almost all the agencies. Not only did public satisfaction improve across the board, but problem incidence and corruption seem to have declined perceptibly in the routine transactions between the public and the agencies (See the charts below). It is clear that more decisive steps have been taken by the agencies to improve services between 1999 and 2003.

What accounts for this distinct turnaround in Bangalore’s public services? What lessons can we learn from this experiment? Needless to say, without deliberate interventions by the government and the service providers, improvement in services would not have taken place. But the key question is - what made them act? A whole complex of factors seems to have

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been at work. The new Chief Minister of the State who took over in 1999 was very much concerned about the public dissatisfaction with the city’s services. He set in motion new mechanisms such as the “Bangalore Agenda Task Force,” a forum for public-private partnership that helped energize the agencies and assist in the upgrading of services. Civil society groups and the media supported and monitored these efforts. What is significant is that the initial trigger for these actions came largely from the civil society initiative called “citizen report cards.”

What are the pre-conditions for such civil society initiatives to work? It is obvious that these initiatives are more likely to succeed in a democratic and open society. Without adequate space for participation, CRCs are unlikely to make an impact. A tradition of activism within the civil society can also help. People should be willing to organize themselves to engage in advocacy and seek reforms supported by credible information. Political and bureaucratic leaders must have the will and resources to respond to such information and the call for improved governance by the people. Last, but not least, the credibility of those who craft CRCs is equally important. The initiators of the exercise should be seen as non-partisan and independent. They need to maintain high professional standards. The conduct of the survey and the interpretation of the findings should be done with utmost professional integrity.

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When service providers and governments on their own improve their services and accountability, initiatives such as CRCs may not be necessary. Even under these conditions, a report card can be an effective means for civil society groups to monitor the performance of government and its service providers. Public agencies can on their own initiate report cards on their performance as indeed some in Bangalore have done. But when a government is indifferent to these concerns, advocacy based on a CRC can act as an accountability tool to challenge the government to perform better.

Not too long ago, public demands for accountability and transparency in governance were given less priority. The end of the cold war era, rising democratization of countries and emergence of strong civil societies and open media are creating new and more radical demands of transparency and accountability in the public sector. These demands are centered on stronger monitoring and evaluation and more rigorous audit of public expenditure. At the same time, an increasingly active citizenry is championing the call for responsive government, for policies that foster equity and development, for a budgetary planning process which is open and subject to scrutiny, for eradication of graft and corruption, and for enhanced and demonstrated results. However, despite these recent positive trends, studies show that many developing countries perform poorly with respect to holding its government to account and in

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efforts to control corruption, in the equitable distribution of services and in effective decentralization. Therefore, the ability of the traditional accountability mechanisms to effect change on the functioning, performance and transparency of governments are increasingly being openly debated.

1.6 Role of Civil Society Organizations in Audits

Over the last 10 years, the capacity of civil society organizations to understand, analyze, and influence public budgeting has grown dramatically. In more than 60 developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, non-governmental organizations (NGO), think tanks (research organizations), community and grassroots organizations have been involved in the growing movement to make public budgeting more transparent and accountable.

Civil society organizations engaged in budget-focused work contribute to public expenditure management and oversight in several ways. First, they provide one of the few sources of critical and independent information on the impact of the budget on poor and low-income citizens. Second, they can help build budget literacy among citizens and facilitate discussions and debates on budgetary issues within civil society. Third, by collating, synthesizing, and disseminating information on public finances, budget groups add new data

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into the budget process. Finally, civil society budget groups provide training on public finances to citizen groups, the media, and legislatures, thereby strengthening the capacity of all of these groups to exercise oversight over budget process and to demand accountability from government agencies. Although civil society is a relatively new actor in public budgeting, evidence that they are having a positive impact on budget decision-making and implementation is beginning to emerge.

1.7 Mechanisms for Public Accountability in India

Democratic governments derive their legitimacy from the constitutions that create them. Furthermore, constitutions provide framework of checks and balances among the government institutions that derive their mandates from the constitutions (e.g., the legislature, executive, and judiciary).

In a democracy, the State is the servant of the people. It performs many functions essential for the welfare and development of its citizens and provides an array of essential services many of which are “public goods.” The State collects taxes from the people to discharge its functions and is accountable to society for proper use of the resources entrusted to it. Periodic elections are seen as the ultimate lever that citizens can use to hold those

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wielding power in the name of the state accountable for their performance. But the dilemma is that while much happens between elections in terms of transactions between the state and its citizens, there is little an individual citizen can do in the short run if things go wrong in the discharge of functions or services by the state’s agencies. Waiting for the next election is of little help to a citizen who needs immediate corrective action. The problem arises because the citizens have no “exit” unlike in the market place where they can exit from one supplier of a good or service to another. When citizens have no exit option, they can only vent their feelings through “voice.” Voice may take the form of protest, non-cooperation or the rejection of political representatives through the ballot process.2 Collective action in any of these forms can act as an instrument of accountability, signaling the authorities that they must listen to the people’s voice and take remedial action. Of these different forms of voice, the ballot process is the most difficult to access because of the long time gap between elections. Other forms of collective action (a form of voice) are more easily resorted to when people face problems continually with the functioning of governments, especially with the delivery of services.

India is a large democratic country of a billion people. It has a federal government at the center, 27 state governments, and over 200,000 (urban and rural) local governments. Most of the traditional mechanisms of accountability, both vertical and horizontal, are present in India.

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As a parliamentary democracy, it has elected legislatures that have oversight functions over the Executive and an independent judiciary that can hold both the legislative and executive arms of the state accountable. It has a variety of independent authorities and commissions that perform accountability function vis-à-vis different parts of the government. The electoral process, the ultimate accountability mechanism in a democratic country, has performed well over 50 years. Nevertheless, all is not well with public accountability in India. Formal accountability systems are put in place for the most part, but they are not necessarily made to work (Paul, 2003).

One of the dominant features of rural development strategies in India is the adoption of “democratic decentralization” as the key approach. An initiative in this direction was taken in the form of community development programme (CDP), which has ultimately resulted into the establishment of a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj (local self government). One of the challenges facing decentralized governance in India today is how to make panchayat leadership accountable to the public through transparency in its operations. In rural areas, poor people do not have the power, knowledge, and incentives to demand better services and public accountability. The problem is compounded by the fact that the measurement and quantification of the benefits and adequacy of services are often difficult. All these are reasons why the performance and accountability of the panchayats remain weak in rural India.

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It has been recognized that formal democracy (regular elections, multi-party system, independent judiciary, etc.) in developed and developing countries does not necessarily address the needs and aspirations of all citizens. These institutions get “captured” by organized vested interests and the practice of “majority opinion”, let alone those of large sections of citizens who no longer care to vote. The elected representatives – parliamentarians and legislators – have become increasingly “irrelevant” in this system of formal democracy. For example in countries like Britain, India, Australia, the executive function, led by the head of the state and operated by a large entrenched bureaucracy, is in ‘supreme” control of all power and authority (Tandon, 2003). There is a need for dynamic and constant issue-based dialogue between citizens (not just as voters) and their elected representatives, which can considerably improve the governance of democracy.

It is in this context that experiments in local governance being carried out in India after passage of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) is creating new possibilities. Local bodies – Panchayats and Municipalities – as institutions of local governance are arenas where new practices in governance are being attempted. These local bodies are being promoted as locally rooted institutions of governance. As newly elected representatives, women, dalits and other marginalized castes are showing the way in India and are performing their public roles for the

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first time in history. These local experiments in governance perhaps can present interesting principles, approaches, methods and tools for effective governance of democracy at national and global levels. The challenge today is to reform formal institutions of democracy in such a manner that the governance function becomes the joint responsibility of citizens and their representatives (Tandon, 2003).

Good local governance requires working towards:

Informed and aware citizens Local capacity to take decisions equitably and democratically Local capacity to manage resources efficiently and equitably Effective citizen involvement Competent representatives and officials Accountability for actions

Governments are facing an ever-growing demand to be more accountable and socially responsible and the people are becoming more assertive about their rights to be informed and to influence governments' decision-making processes. Faced with these vociferous demands, the executive and the legislature are looking for new ways to evaluate their performance. Civil

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society organisations are also undertaking "Social Audits" to monitor and verify the social performance claims of the organisations and institutions (Kurien-http://www.sasanet.org/documents/Tools/Social%20Audit.pdf )

1.8 Transparency:

Transparency is a very important element of strengthening a community. The word "transparent" here means the ability to see through something. When civil servants try to do things (i.e. make decisions, allocate resources) in secrecy, hiding their activities from the people, they are not being transparent. This promotes mistrust, apathy, and marginalisation. . Laws, such as the "Freedom of Information Act," or similar laws, which ensure that details of government spending must be of public record, available to the people, are intended to promote governmental transparency, although some officials will attempt to subvert the spirit of such laws. People have a right and a responsibility to know what is going on. If you hide a problem, cover it up or deny that it is there; you surely hinder its solution. If, instead, you uncover it, admit it, and honestly examine it, you are well on the way to solving the problem. Transparency strengthens.

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1.8.1 What is transparency?

As the word itself suggests, transparency is about openness. In terms of democratic governance systems, it is about being able to see what decisions are being made and how they are made, as well as if and how decisions are implemented once they are agreed to. Access to information law is critical to transparency. But transparency is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end. More than anything, transparency is about creating the “political space” for people to defend and exercise their rights.

1.8.2 Without transparency:

citizens are unable to monitor the affairs of their elected representatives; decision-making in the legislature, executive or judiciary can be tainted by hidden interests

and agendas;

legislatures do not have the information they need to exercise oversight over the executive; and

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citizens cannot access the information they require to participate effectively in the democratic process.

1.8.3 Transparency is strengthened when:

critical decision-making fora are open to public and media attendance; obligations are placed on political office-bearers to disclose their interests;

the right of the media to disseminate information on the affairs of government is protected;

regular, accurate and user-friendly information on government plans, proposals and policies is available and accessible to the public and media;

the executive has the duty to provide regular, accessible reports on its performance in the public domain;

there is public access to independent audit reports on government spending; and

para-statal bodies are subject to account for their performance and fiscal management in the public domain.

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Transparency defines a certain relationship - one would not talk about transparency if there wouldn’t be two parts of the same coin: the representatives and the represented. The authors of a study on „Corruption in Local Public Administration” argue that transparency derives from the constitutional right of citizens to information: the right of the individual to access any public interest information cannot be violated (Giurgiu et all, 2002). An interesting definition of transparency was developed in the “Report on the Integrity and Transparency of Local Public Administration”. Transparency signifies “the set of instruments through which citizens hold accountable the public administration for the activities realized in their service” (Transforma, 2004, pp. 7, own translation). The same study identifies two way of operationalizing this concept: (1) ensuring citizen’s access to public interest information, and (2) participation of citizens in the process of adopting normative acts and in the public meetings. Transparency is built on the free flow of information. Processes, institutions and information are directly accessible to those concerned with them, and enough information is provided to understand and monitor them.

1.8.4 General Transparency of the Local Public Institutions

On the general level, transparency of the local public institutions fits the definition accepted earlier: “the set of instruments through which citizens hold accountable the public

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administration for the activities realized in their service”. Still, it needs further elaboration. The general transparency of the local public institutions refers to three key elements:

openness towards citizens, decisional transparency towards citizens, and mechanisms of accountability and responsibility.

The first element, openness, means here openness towards the public at large about a public institution’s structure and functions, fiscal policy intentions, involving ready access to reliable, comprehensive information on the institution’s activities. Anca Daniela Giurgiu et all argue that the public authorities, according to their competencies, are obliged to ensure the correct information of citizens upon public matters, but also in personal problems. The problem is of higher importance in the context of local governments and local representatives because very idea of their mandate is the concern with matters of local community or society2. This we could consider as a first component of transparency. As a second element we could talk about is decisional transparency towards citizens - a democratic government must offer to citizens the opportunity to understand its operations and participate in making

2 For example the Romanian local administration law stipulates the mandatory public character of the local council meetings, except the few cases provided by law or in the case that the council decides with majority of votes upon the secrecy of the discussion.

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decisions on local public issues (Soós, 2001, pp. 15)3. A third component of transparency could be the mechanisms of accountability and responsibility: people holding representatives accountable for their actions through control institutions and holding them responsible by means of not re-election (referring to the legal framework of the role of the local counselors and the mayor). Indicators of transparency at this level are numerous. Here are just some of them: (1) information brochures (publicly accessible ones) about the structure, composition and functions of the public administration, published by the institution or by NGO’s; (2) existence of a separate public relations office for public at large besides the one that is meant to keep relations with media and other institutions/organizations); (3) meetings with the mass media and the existence of a newspaper published by the local government about decisions; (4) systematic appearance in newspapers of local decisions; (5) public meetings with citizens4; (6) efficiency, transparency and responsibility in the preparation, execution and control of the budget; (7) usage of public funds through the process of public acquisitions5.

1.9 Why is access to information important in democracy?

If one accepts that one of the pillars of democracy is public participation, it follows then

3 In Romanian case this can also refer to the functioning of the departments that are dealing with the implementation of the Law on Access to Information and the Law on Decisional Transparency.4 Also, the law on local public administration obliges councilors to periodically organize meetings with citizens and to have audiences. Each councilor and vice mayor are obliged to present a yearly activity report, which has to be made public by the secretary.5 The focus here rests in strengthening the national legislation, that refers to acquisitions and procedures, for promoting an efficient, opened and transparent process of acquisitions.

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that access to information becomes an important factor in enriching the process of public participation in policy matters. Only an informed citizenry can effectively take part in policy formulation exercises on issues that will affect their lives.  In a way access to information creates political space for the governed and enables them to engage in the governance and democratic process in ways that are far beyond the confines of casting a vote once every five years. The by-products of a free flow of information are an open society and the possibility to maintain accountability of those who exercise public power.

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CHAPTER – II

SOCIAL AUDIT: CONCEPT AND SCOPE

“The main difference between success and failure is… the degree to which poor people themselves are involved in determining the quality and the quantity of the services they receive.”

World Development Report, World Bank, 2004

“The people have a right to know, a right to question, a collective Constitutional right to receive an answer.”

Aruna Roy, MKSS Rajasthan, India

2. Introduction

One approach to strengthen good governance through a process, which promotes transparency and accountability – is Social Audit. According to Charles Medoiver (quoted by

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Mahipal, 1998), the concept of social audit starts from the principle that in a democracy the decision makers should account for the use of their powers and that their powers should be used as far as possible with the consent and understanding of all concerned.

Is accountability to intended beneficiaries a realistic objective? The more a programme is aimed at poverty reduction the more likely it is that the intended beneficiaries are poorly informed, unorganized and voiceless. Building this kind of accountability is part of building a participatory civil society. Evidence alone cannot educate and organize, but reliable, actionable evidence is a necessary condition. And evidence that is shared systematically with communities, service providers and the media can help strengthen constituencies for service accountability at community, district, provincial and national levels. Social audits are just such an effort to insure both accountability and results by systematic building of the community voice into the evaluation process. The social audit process is intended as a means for social engagement, transparency and communication of information, leading to greater accountability of decision-makers: representatives, managers and officials.

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2.1 History and Current Practice

The etymology dictionary explains that the term audit originates from the Latin word audire, which means “to hear.” Audire in ancient Rome referred to the “hearing of accounts,” a process in which one official compared his records with those of another official. As many of the parties interested in the audit findings were illiterate, audits were presented orally. In ancient times, emperors used to recruit persons designated as auditors to get feedback about the activities undertaken by the kings in their kingdoms. These auditors used to go to common places to listen to citizens’ opinions about various matters, namely, behaviour of palace employees, incidence to tax, image of local officials, etc. But in the modern day, audit is an independent evaluation of the activities and programmes being implemented by an organization, on the basis of accepted principles of accounting based on certain norms. Thus, audit is a comparison between the performance of a certain activity and reasonable norms.

The phrase "social audit" was first used in the 1950s.  Much early work took the form of external investigations to assess the impact of large corporations on their work-force, consumers and the community.  This continued, examining the impact of plant closures and of investment or relocation decisions and, increasingly, uncovering the ethical behaviour and

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environmental impact of business corporations.  Increasing numbers of corporations now accept the notion of "corporate social responsibility" and have developed substantial community support programmes.

More recently companies have been required to report on their environmental impact and few developments can now go ahead without an environmental impact audit.  New standards for environmental reporting have been introduced (e.g. BS7750 and ISO 14001) and more and more organizations are adopting the voluntary verification system Eco-Management and Auditing Scheme (EMAS).

2.2 What is a Social Audit?

Social auditing is a method of participatory impact assessment that can be used by (local) government, businesses and organizations in almost any sector, including finance, housing, agriculture and development cooperation. Social audit is a process that enables an organisation to assess and demonstrate its social, economic, and environmental benefits and limitations. Characterizing an audit, as "social" does not mean that costs and finance are not examined - the central concern of a social audit is how resources are used for social objectives, including how resources can be better mobilised to meet those objectives

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(www.ciet.org/2003). A thoroughly competent and honest financial audit may reveal very little about the results of the programme being audited. Only reliable evidence that links a programme's impact and coverage to its costs can serve the needs of managers who seek to manage on the basis of results. Nor can social accountability be achieved by looking only at internal records of performance, however well and honestly these are kept. A social audit must include the experience of the people the organization is intended to serve.

Social Audit is a systematic, regular and objective accounting procedure that enables organisations to establish social values and criteria against which they can measure external and internal performance and their social plans. The Social Audit methodology provides a framework in which organisations can establish their own priorities, strategic plans and performance measurement criteria, and then monitor and make decisions about how to maintain or improve their operations. Organisations, which undertake Social Audit, should view the process as one by which they can learn more about their own organisation and manage change, if required. This clearly distinguishes the Social Audit from other types of measurement evaluations and surveys. Social Audit aims to build a new definition of viability around a broader set of values that represent the growing concern for wider responsibility in organisations. Finance accounting is an essential part of management, but it does not include areas of responsibility that many

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community organisations have to consider as part of their normal operations; the costs and benefits associated with the activities of an organisation are much broader than those described in financial terms. The profit and loss account only tells half the story; Social Audit tells the other half.

The Social Audit methodology comprises four elements; these are:

1. The Statement of Purpose and Planning, 2. The External View,

3. The Internal View and

4. The Monitoring and Evaluating.

Each of the four elements is made up of number of practical exercises. The Social Audit is built up by undertaking the practical exercises and then bringing together the results, within the four elements, into measurable performance areas. It is not necessary to use all the exercises and where organisations already practice similar processes they are encouraged to stick with them rather than change to the Social Audit exercises. The sequence is the essential process; the exercises are there to provide the methodology in order to execute the process. Each of the four elements and the exercises are linked and together provide an integrated

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Social Audit methodology that further links to the Project Cycle Management (PCM) methodology within the overall Community Enterprise structure.

It is vital that the process is participative and inclusive. Social Audit must involve those stakeholders closely associated with the organisation. Involvement means actively participating in the design and realisation of the Social Audit processes; including the views of all the stakeholders; and reporting the results of the audit to all stakeholders. A Social Audit is usually undertaken by an Audit Team from within the organisation, working to a Terms of Reference. The Audit Team is composed of representatives from different stakeholder groups: this includes users of the services/facilities, members, management board members,

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volunteers, funders and paid staff. An independent observer might also be seconded onto the Audit Team. 

The four main components of a Social Audit are:

1. Statement of Purpose – engaging the community in setting priorities: long term vision – medium term strategy – short term operational criteria

2. External View - stakeholder and service assessment: benefits received – problems identified – solutions designed, planned and implemented

3. Internal View – organisational assessment: effectiveness of operational methodology – efficiency of management systems – satisfaction of board members, staff and volunteers

4. Review and Planning – the learning loop: learning lessons from the previous years planned and actual results, making changes and planning the next years strategy and criteria

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The Social Audit cycle starts with the Statement of Purpose and Planning, this reviews the results of last year's purpose and plans and establishes this year's purpose and plans.

The External View engages a wide range of stakeholders and forms a view of the organisation's position within the wider context.

The Internal View engages with the board of directors, staff and volunteers in assessing and designing satisfactory ways of working and reward, and makes sure the organisation management and systems are able to achieve the purpose and plans.

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The Monitoring and Evaluation element is where the Social Audit Team manages the Social Audit and measures performance.

For each stage a number of practical exercises have been designed to fit within the overall methodology of Social Audit. The progressive accumulation of understanding that can be gained from measuring and managing social performance enables organisations to manage effectively.

Social Auditing enables organizations to understand, measure, report and improve on their social performance. The method brings together stakeholder views and existing systems of social information about the organization in a manner that enhances understanding and decision-making. It helps organizations to understand their relationships with the stakeholders and to report openly to them.

Financial Auditing occurs in most organisations as an official and measured statement, which reports on how effectively the group is managing their budgets. "Social Auditing" is similar, but focuses on monitoring the work the community organisation aims to achieve with its clients or users. Participatory Audit is different from Social Audit in that it refers to audit processes where stakeholders are directly or indirectly involved through a variety of audit and monitoring methods and public hearings.

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Social audit is similar, in some respects, to financial audit but focuses on social rather than financial performance. According to Geddes, an early author on social audit,

“Social audit then is best understood as a reaction against conventional accounting principles and practices,” which focus “on the financial viability and profitability of the individual economic enterprise. By contrast, social audit proposes a broader financial and economic perspective, reaching far beyond the individual enterprise. Social audit posits other goals as well as, or instead of, financial profitability. Moreover social audit attempts to embrace not only economic and monetary variables but also as its name suggests social ones, including some which may not be amenable to quantification in monetary terms.”M. Geddes 1992, “The Social Audit Movement”, in Green reporting: the challenge of the nineties, Owen D (Ed), Chapman and Hall and quoted in CBS Report

Social audit consists of a distinct sequence of procedures or tasks that begins with clear identification of the organization’s social responsibilities, establishment of performance standards, application of measurement tools to assess the consequence of corporate decisions and actions, and reporting on the organization’s performance over a specified period.10George Clark, “Social Auditing – Feedback Control for Organizations”, p. 2. (An internet-generated article.)

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Social Audit is a systematic and objective procedure, which enables an organization to fully engage its members in identifying needs solutions, plan activities, monitor progress and measure its social performance in a comprehensive and participative way (Singh, 2003). The underlying ideas are directly linked to concerns of democracy and participation. Its application at the village level holds tremendous potential for contributing to good local governance and increased transparency and accountability in rural development in India.

By social audit we mean a view of the administrative system from the perspective of the vast majority of the people in the society in whose name and for whose cause the very institutional/ administrative system is promoted and legitimized. Social audit of administration means understanding the administrative system and its internal dynamics from the angle of what they mean for the vast majority of the ordinary people (common man), that is those who are not essentially a part of the state or its machinery or the ruling class of the day (Mathew, 1999).

Sensitizing the target groups about benefits of any programme and identifying gaps in the implementation of the programmes; scrutiny of the implication of technological choice for people; scrutiny of the organizational structure and policy evolution for the people keeping in

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view, their interests, priorities and perceptions; and making the system open and accountable to the people, are necessary to make social audit effective.

Social auditing is distinct from evaluation in that it is an internally generated process whereby the organization itself shapes the social audit process according to its stated objectives.  In particular it aims to involve all stakeholders in the process.  It measures social performance in order to achieve improvement as well as to report accurately on what has been done. Social audit is an independent evaluation of the performance of an organization as it relates to the attainment of its social obligation. It means it is an instrument of social accountability of an organization. In other words, social audit may be defined as an in-depth scrutiny and analysis of working of any public utility vis-à-vis its social relevance.

Social audit is a process by which organizations can account for, report on, and improve their social performance. It indicates, and where possible quantifies, the social impact and ethical behaviour of an organization in relation to its aims and those of its stakeholders. It is a process that enables organizations to systematically assess and demonstrate their performance in relation to key objectives and factors not covered by financial auditing.

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Social auditing process enables an organisation (or business) to assess and demonstrate its social, community and/or environmental benefits and limitations. The emphases generally are on the organisation rather than projects or programmes within it, and the desire to establish a systematic and accountable approach which recognises all stakeholders (NICDA, 1997). When well embedded into an organisation, a social audit can provide an annual overview about how well an organisation has addressed its objectives and core values, as well as its effectiveness, efficiency and equity. Thus it is more than an assessment of the mechanics of an organisation.

One form of social auditing is "citizen monitoring", which is used to monitor the quality of local governance or service provision, in order either to "stamp" out corruption or promote effective governance directly by improving citizen access to essential goods and services. The things monitored are, first, whose priorities are reflected in the supply of services or local government performance, and secondly, the fulfillment of commitments made and performance standards underwritten by the government or provider.

2.3 The Social Audit Field:

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Social audit is the generic term referring to the full range of activities of the entire procedure. In effect, it encompasses the following activities:

1. Social accounting, which covers:

a.Social bookkeeping, an activity whereby all information related to social performance based on the organization’s social objectives are collected, recorded and systematically classified;

b. Summarization and interpretation of the data; andc.Reporting the information to management.

2. Social auditing, which covers:

a.Verification of the information, and certification as to the correctness of the information; and

b. Reporting the information to all the stakeholders and the public.

The audit process can be broken down into a number of different stages:

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Social book-keeping – defined as the ongoing process by which information is routinely collected about the organisation’s performance in relation to social objectives.

Social accounting – the year-end process of analyzing and interpreting the information which has been collected in order to produce an account of social impact and performance.

Social auditing – the process of reviewing and verifying the social accounts at the end of each social audit period.

However, social audit is often the generic term used for the whole accounting process, covering collection, analysis and verification. Social Audit is a tool with which government departments can plan, manage and measure non-financial activities and monitor both internal and external consequences of the department/organisation’s social and commercial operations. It is an instrument of social accountability for an organisation. In other words, Social Audit may be defined as an in-depth scrutiny and analysis of the working of any public utility vis-à-vis its social relevance. Social Audit gained significance especially after the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution relating to Panchayat Raj Institutions (Kurien-http://www.sasanet.org/documents/Tools/Social%20Audit.pdf ).

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2.4 Social Audit Definitions

Social audit is defined differently by different organizations. Some important definitions of social audit are given below.

a)"Social Audit is a method for organisations to plan, manage and measure non-financial activities and to monitor both the internal and external consequences of the organisation's social and commercial operations." SEP

b)"Social Auditing is a process which enables organisations and agencies to assess and demonstrate their social, community and environmental benefits and limitations. It is a way to measure the extent to which an organisation lives up to the shared values and objectives it has committed itself to promote." NICDA

c) "Social auditing is the process whereby an organisation can account for its social performance, report on and improve that performance. It assesses the social impact and ethical behaviour of an organisation in relation to its aims and those of its stakeholders." NEF

Source: http://www.mpen.org.uk/briefing/briefing8a.html

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d) Social Auditing enables organizations to understand, measure, report and improve on their social performance. The method brings together stakeholder views and existing systems of social information about the organization in a manner that enhances understanding and decision-making. It helps organizations to understand their relationships with the stakeholders and to report openly to them.

e)Social Audit refers to a process that enables an organization to assess and demonstrate its social, economic, and environmental benefits and limitations. It is a way of measuring the extent to which an organization lives up to the shared values and objectives it has committed itself to.Source: Community Land Unit Action framework, Graham Boyd and Alana Albee, 2001

In a training workshop on social audit organized by the Development alternatives at Orchha (Madhya Pradesh) on 23-25 January 2006, the participants evolved the following definitions of social audit.

f) Social Audit is a democratic process to ensure public accountability.

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g) Through Social Audit, an organization can understand and evaluate its influence on the community and be accountable to its stakeholders.

h) Social Audit is a technique by which the stakeholders can understand, measure, testify, report and improve upon the social dimensions of an organization or work.

i) Just as financial audit reflects the economic and financial well-being of an organization, so does Social Audit reflect an organization’s social well-being in terms of the people who are directly affected by its works.

Social audits are designed to track public expenditure and at the same time to invest in the development of social capital and 'voice' for public planning and monitoring. In this way they create an impact upon governance by shaping the way in which decisions are made, resources allocated and actions taken in particular settings. Social auditing is especially taken up for the purpose of enhancing local governance, particularly for strengthening accountability and transparency in local bodies. It is based on the principle that democratic local governance should be carried out, as far as possible, with the consent and understanding of all concerned. It is thus a process and not an event. It is a cyclical process that sets targets and

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benchmarks that become embedded in the planning process. According to Singh (2007), a social audit is a process by which the people, the final beneficiaries of any scheme, programme, policy or law, are empowered to audit such schemes, programmes, policies and laws. Singh further elaborates that a social audit is an ongoing process by which the potential beneficiaries and other stakeholders of an activity or project are involved from the planning to the monitoring and evaluation of that activity or project. It thereby tries to ensure that the activity or project is designed and implemented in a manner that is most suited for the prevailing (local) conditions, appropriately reflects the priorities and preferences of those affected by it, and most effectively serves public interest.

2.5 Purpose of the Social Audit

This tool is designed to be a handy, easy to use reference that not only answers basic questions about Social Audit, reasons for conducting Social Audit, and most importantly gives

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easy-to-follow steps for all those interested in using Social Audit. The purpose of conducting Social Audit is not to find fault with the individual functionaries but to assess the performance in terms of social, environmental and community goals of the organisation. It is a way of measuring the extent to which an organisation lives up to the shared values and objectives it has committed itself to. It provides an assessment of the impact of an organisation's non-financial objectives through systematic and regular monitoring, based on the views of its stakeholders (Kurien-http://www.sasanet.org/documents/Tools/Social%20Audit.pdf ).

The Social Audit process is intended as a means for social engagement, transparency and communication of information, leading to greater accountability of decision-makers, representatives, managers and officials. The underlying ideas are directly linked to concepts of democracy and participation. The application of Social Audit at the village level holds tremendous potential for contributing to good local governance and increased transparency and accountability of the local bodies.

Social accounting establishes a framework for ongoing monitoring, evaluation and accountability to stakeholders both internal and external to the organisation. The process of social accounting can help an organisation to investigate its performance against social, environmental and economic objectives, and ensure that it is working in accordance with its

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values. In the private sector, social accounting is aligned with corporate social responsibility.

2.6 Objectives of Social Audit

The following are the main objectives of Social Audit: Assessing the physical and financial gaps between needs and resources. Creating awareness among beneficiaries and providers of the benefits. Increase efficacy and effectiveness of the programmes/schemes. Scrutiny of various policy prescriptions keeping in view people’s interests, priorities and

perceptions. Estimation of the opportunity cost borne by the people not getting timely access to public

utilities.

It is thus a people-oriented approach far different from traditional expenditure approach. For achieving these objectives, the government has to open and be accountable to the people and control over information has to be lifted, as access to information is the key to social audit.

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2.7 What is the scope of a Social Audit?

Social audits are conducted not only on schemes and programmes but also on policies and laws and, indeed, on the functioning of a public agency. The task of auditing is relevant right from the stage when an issue or an approach is identified, through planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and audits are done not just of the decisions taken or the actions done (or not done), but also of the processes followed.

2.9 Relevance of Social Audit

Public utilities are an indispensable part of human life. Although investment in these utilities has been increasing, their demand has always been more than supply due to pressure of population. These public utilities have largely been neglected in rural sector due to scarcity of funds with the Panchayats and insult to injury has been added due to their mismanagement. Since a large amount of money is invested in these utilities, SA is a sine qua non for attaining underlying objectives of these services.

Lack of these utilities is causing hardships to the common man. Villagers have been compelled to travel miles to have access to such facilities. Villagers are forced to migrate to

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urban areas. Social amenities are less than the bare minimum. People sacrifice a lot to get these facilities. In other words, opportunity cost for availing of such facilities is very high, which have to be evaluated. Hospitals breed infectious diseases. Non-supply of medicine in time, supply of sub-standard medicines, inadequate arrangement of meeting emergency cases, lack of ambulance facilities, etc. create enormous problems for the common man. But such evaluations do not find place in financial audit.

2.10 What are the benefits of doing a Social Audit?

It permits an organization to effectively monitor and steer performance; understanding the relationship between social and commercial; understanding the cost and other implications of achieving social, community, cultural and/or environmental impact; making choices about priorities and modifying practices in the light of results.

It permits the stakeholders in the organization to affect its behaviour and to influence future policy.

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It allows the organization to report on its achievements in a way that is based upon verified evidence rather that unsubstantiated claims.

It permits those who invest in or fund the organization, and all its stakeholders including the wider community, to judge if the organization is achieving the social, cultural, community and/or environmental added-value which it set out to achieve.

Finally, all of the above enable the organization to improve its social performance year on year, in way that is inclusive, participatory, transparent and measurable.  

Potential benefits

•As social accounting examines the social, environmental and economic performance and impact of an organisation, it can offer an organisation a method for obtaining a holistic and regular process of examining both how it is doing (performance) and what its effects are on people, communities, and the environment (impact).

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• Customers, service users, or clients can be involved with the social accounting process and thereby feed their perspectives into the organisation’s planning and measurement process. These individuals or groups can also request/ read social accounts to know more about organisation.

• Social accounting can feed into strategic planning, as it offers an organisation the ability to systematically review its strengths and areas for improvement.

• Organisations have a great deal of flexibility within the framework. They may go through the process in different ways, and report on the process differently, tailoring it to fit their needs and requirements. An organisation can choose to report on any indicators that it sees fit, thereby making it possible to fit many ‘proving and improving’ tools within the framework, including quality systems or indicators of impact that are required by purchasers, funders, or lenders.

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• There is flexibility in the time scale for completing the process and in building up to a comprehensive set of accounts. The full process can be done in stages over two or more years if the organisation focuses on different aspects of its activities or objectives in each year. This is only recommended if the whole picture will be complete within a reasonable timeframe.

• The external validation process can be an important reality check on the information the organisation has gathered.

• Having a verified and comprehensive statement of the organisation’s impact and performance can help in reporting to funders/investors, reporting to stakeholders and in compiling annual reports.

Potential limitations

•Social accounting can be quite labour intensive, especially the first time. If the organisation has not done basic strategic planning in some time, it can be difficult to progress through the process rapidly.

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• Although engaging in a social accounting process can be seen as a commitment to improvement, social accounting is not explicitly recognised by funders and lenders.

• The social accounting process is not particularly useful for benchmarking, as the questions asked and methods for finding the answers are left to each individual organisation to decide. However, there are some organisations that are investigating reporting to a common framework (e.g. CTAC in Manchester).

2.11 How does Social Audit work?

One can view Social Audit at two levels. One is at the organisation level (government, private and NGOs) and another at the civil society level (private, NGO, CBO, universities, schools, consumer organisations, SHGs, an individual etc.). At the organisational level, it is internal as well as external. The internal component corresponds to social accounting and social bookkeeping, whereas the external component involves verification of social account by an independent Social Auditor or an audit panel.

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Community/societal level audit is carried out to gather data on community values, social benefits, social capital and quality of department/programme interface with people. This is matched with outcomes of Social Audit carried out at the organisation/department level. Based on the analysis, the programme or its activities are oriented towards community/society’s expectations. Social Audit at community level also contributes to the empowerment of civil society, equity, networking and advocacy. Social Audit consists of book-keeping and discussion with stakeholders and community in their settings. Methods include social accounting, stakeholder consultation, interviewing of staff, NGO functionaries, beneficiaries, or anyone directly or indirectly affected by the programmes and department activities. All these are simple-to-use tools and any department should be able to undertake Social Audit by going through this toolkit.

The objectives of the organisation are the starting point from where the indicators of impact are determined, the stakeholders are identified and the tools for data collection are designed in detail. Social book-keeping records, stakeholder consultation, as well as, data from the community are collected and maintained by the organisation or the department concerned. Ideally, a panel of eminent citizens of unimpeachable integrity and social commitment should review this social book-keeping annually. This aspect of Social Audit sometimes includes an independent audit through an intensive interface with a variety of

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stakeholders and the community. The Social Audit report can be placed in the public domain for wider dissemination. These reports could be further used by a variety of stakeholders, including policy makers, to bring about appropriate changes, if required, to maximise social benefits.

2.12 Social Audit Principles

In the past years, there have been substantial efforts to define common themes in social audit. From the experience of all those involved, a good social audit carries all these characteristics:

1. Improved social performance. This is the overarching principle, and this refers to the continuous improvement in performance by the organization relative to the chosen social objectives as the result of social audit;

2. Multi-perspective. It is important for all groups affected or who affect the organization to be included in the process;

3. Comparative. The process should allow for comparison with other organizations, over time and between stakeholder groups.

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4. Comprehensive. The process should be designed to collect all relevant materials and areas of concern should not be left out simply because the organization would not like the result.

5. Regular. To facilitate comparability and to demonstrate a commitment to the process, it should be regular, with a frequency of once every two years.

6. Verified. Verification by independent auditors gives the process credibility.7. Published. The result (or a synopsis) of the audit should be published so that the

stakeholders can see the results and to encourage openness.8. Improvement. It is important to receive feedback about the process itself and the

report, and to improve the system over time.9. Embeddedness. The social audit process should be integrated with other business

information. gathering systems.Euro Coop General Assembly, Op. cit., May 1999, pp. 4-5. (Note: Principles 1 to 7 are common to all social audit models.)

It has to be recognized that not all organizations, especially from the community sector, have the resources necessary to carry out and be able to fulfill all these principles in a given year. Social audit can be done incrementally: one way is by foregoing verification and disclosure during the first year; and another way is by reducing the comprehensiveness of the social audit framework by limiting it to few areas of decisions and actions. In this way the

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organization moves slowly within the limits of its own resources, while inching towards the completion of the full requirements of a social audit in all its eight principles and address in full the first principle which is continuous improvement in the social performance of the organization (John Pearce, Peter Reynard and Simon Zadek, Social Auditing for Small Organizations, NEF, London, p.4.)

The process of social auditing encourages and helps an organization to continuously monitor and improve its social performance.  Six key principles underpin good practice:

Multi-perspective: the social audit should reflect the views of all those involved with or affected by the organization (the "stakeholders")

Comprehensive: the social audit should aim ultimately to embrace all aspects of an organizations' social, environmental, cultural and community benefit performance

Comparative: the social audit should offer a means whereby the organization can compare its own performance over time, make comparisons with other organizations engaged in similar work and relate performance to appropriate benchmarks.

Regular: the social audit should take place regularly and not just be an occasional or one-off exercise.

Verification: the social accounts should be verified (audited) annually by one or more person who has no vested interest in the results.

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Disclosure: the findings of the social audit should be made available to all those people involved in the organization and to the wider community

Improved social performance: The main message of social auditing, for any organization (big or small), is the principle of improving social performance.

According to Singh (2007), The basic principles of social audit include:

Complete transparency in the process of administration and decision-making, with an obligation on the government to suo moto give the people full access to all relevant information.

A right based entitlement for all the affected persons (and not just their representatives) to participate in the process of decision making and validation;

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In those rare cases where options are pre-determined out of necessity, the right of the affected persons to give informed consent, as a group or as individuals, as appropriate.

Immediate and public answerability of elected representatives and government functionaries, to all the concerned and affected people, on relevant actions or inactions.

2.13 How is it related to other types of audits?

Broadly speaking, there are at least three types of audits. There are

a.Government or institutional audits, b. Social audits, and c.People’s audits.

Government or institutional audits are those that are conducted in-house or through external, professional, auditing institutions, and are ordinarily conducted without the significant involvement of the affected people and/or the intended beneficiaries.

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Social audits are those that are conducted jointly by the government and the people, especially by those people who are affected by, or are the intended beneficiaries of, the activity being audited.

People’s audits are those that are conducted by the people themselves, including those who are directly affected or are the intended beneficiaries, sometimes with the assistance of movements and NGOs, but invariably with the sincere effort to involve the concerned department or institution. Development Audit: Development Audit is a tool by which an organization can increase accountability and transparency through stakeholder engagement. The approach recognizes both strong and weak stakeholders and aims in particular to give weaker stakeholders a voice in decisions that have previously been the sole responsibility of managers, officials or representatives. In methods and approach, a Development Audit is very similar to a Social Audit – a tool designed to assess the social performance of businesses. Development Audit adds to Social Audit an assessment of costs involved in a program. This reflects a concern that an efficient

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and sustainable approach to financial resource allocation is as critical for development as other objectives that are social, institutional and environmental, and needs also to be part of a transparent process of assessment and planning.

The methodology envisages a regular cycle of auditing, comprising a series of steps. These include a scoping study, review of records, stakeholder consultation on issues, indicators and appropriate targets, measurement of indicators selected, analysis of program costs and results, and presentation back to stakeholders on the findings.

2.14 How is a social audit different to other types of audits?

Social Audit is often misinterpreted as another form of audit to determine the accuracy of financial or statistical statements or reports and the fairness of the facts they present. A conventional financial audit focuses on financial records and their scrutiny by an external auditor following financial accountancy principles, whereas the concept of Social Audit is more comprehensive, having a greater scope than that of traditional audit. In general, Social Audit refers to a process for measuring, understanding and improving the social performance of an activity of an organisation. Social Auditing is again distinct from evaluation in that it is an internally generated process whereby the organisation itself shapes the Social Audit process

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according to its stated objectives. In particular, it aims to involve all stakeholders in the process. It measures social performance in order to achieve improvement as well as to report accurately on what has been done. Financial audit is geared towards verification of reliability and integrity of financial information. Similarly, operation audit looks at compliance with policies, plan procedures, laws, regulations, established objectives and efficient use of resources. On the contrary, Social Audit examines performance of a department/programme vis-à-vis its stated core values in the light of community values and the distribution of benefits among different social groups reached through good governance principles. Social Audit adds another dimension of key performance measurements in creating social wealth in the form of useful networks and administration/ accountable and transparent to the stakeholders. Creating social wealth is one of the key contributions of Social Audit. Thus, Social Audit strengthens the legitimacy of the state, as well as trust between the state and the civil society.

Social Audit is proposed as a supplement to conventional audit to help Government departments/ public agencies to understand and improve their performance as perceived by the stakeholders. Social Audit is to be done at different levels of the government and the civil

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society. Social Audit is an ongoing process, often done in 12-month cycles that result in the preparation of annual Social Audit document or report of an organisation.

Financial Audit Operational Audit

Social Audit

Directed towards recording, processing, summarizing and reporting of financial data.

Establishing standards of operation, measuring performance against standards, examining and analyzing deviations, taking corrective actions and reappraising standards based on experience are the main focus.

Social Audit provides an assessment of the impact of a department’s non-financial objectives through systematic and regular monitoring on the basis of the views of its stakeholders.

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As government or institutional audits do not significantly involve the affected persons, or the intended beneficiaries, they end up at best assessing outputs rather than outcomes and are also not able to assess whether the decision making processes had the inputs and support of all the critical stakeholders. Such systems are also very corruptible, as those involved in the audit do not have a real stake in the outcome of the process that they are auditing.

Public audits do not have these problems, because they are usually conducted by the affected persons and/or the intended beneficiaries. However, the bfindings of a public audit might not be easily acceptable to the government and other implementing institutions as they are not intrinsically involved in the process of audit and, despite best efforts, might not participate. Besides, without the participation of the implementing departments/institutions, their side of the story does not get told.

On the other hand, social audits do not have a uniform approach and methodology and many local factors affect their efficacy. To conduct social audits a huge amount of public mobilisation is necessary and, in the absence of that, social audits might not be effective.

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2.15 What would be the ideal option?

Ideally, government or institutional audit would remain the basic auditing practice, but would become far more transparent and inclusive of affected persons and intended beneficiaries, incorporating and integrating some of the practices of social audits.

For a sample of activities, especially for those that involve distribution of disaggregated benefits at grassroots level, or very large investments, social audits would be conducted in addition to government or institutional audits. The findings of such social audits would be publicly compared to those of the government or institutional audits and correctives identified and incorporated in both. There would also be a public rendering of action taken.

Only where there was dissatisfaction among the public with one or both of these auditing processes would the public take the initiative of conducting a public audit. When this happens, the government or other implementing institutions would fully participate in the public audit, thereby making it comprehensive, and take on board the findings. The concerned institution would also come back to the public and report on the action taken on the findings.

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2.16 Social Audit - A tool for improvement: How Social audit is generated by the organization and those most directly involved in it, unlike

many evaluations which are imposed from outside on terms of reference determined by whoever is commissioning the evaluation.

The process and results therefore belong to the organization The organization and the stakeholders determine the social objectives and the indicators

used to assess performance Since all stakeholders are involved in the process, they will all contribute to the assessment

of performance and to how objectives and practice are modified year by year Social audit involves stakeholders not only in the assessment of the organization but also in

the ways forward in terms of issues raised in the assessment.

2.17 Risks Involved and Key Success Factors

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The key to successful Social Auditing is in knowing which techniques to use and in what sequence. The Social Auditor can choose different methods so as to capture both quantitative and qualitative information from the respondent. It is equally important to ensure the follow-up action taken on the Social Audit report and the receptiveness of the departments/organisations to adopt the recommendations in the Social Audit report. The social auditors should suggest modalities for improving its performance based on the feedback received from different stakeholders. The detailed work plan needs to be identified by the social auditors and the same should be implemented at the earliest stakeholders (Kurien-http://www.sasanet.org/documents/Tools/Social%20Audit.pdf ).

2.18 The Social Audit Evolution

Social audit is a work in progress; it is evolving. Continuous learning and improvements are important. There is always a need, for instance, to improve both the conceptualization of the areas of decisions and actions that are being audited, and the indicators and measures of performance. And learning from others too, who do social audit, and from the wider literature on the subject and related subjects is advisable. Sharing of experiences, developing some common standards and sharing of measures and indicators may also help. For truly, what is important is that the subsequent audit is always a better one.

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Social Audit is a comparatively new subject, particularly in the development sector in India. Although the Government of India has recognized the importance of Social Audit and even made it mandatory, there has been very little of it on ground, in practice. Indeed, the concept of Social Audit is still at a nascent stage in the country. Its theory is still evolving, and its role as an empowering tool is as yet little understood and hindered by practical and executive problems. However, some encouraging experiences in the last few years, and now particularly with the ‘Right to Information Law’ having got legislated, the civil society, specially those working on rights based issues, are beginning to realize the increasing value of Social Audit as a tool to empower the people and demand accountability in their development and related works.

()()()()()

CHAPTER - III

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THE SOCIAL AUDIT FRAMEWORK 3.1 Defining the Scope and Focus:

A social audit begins by defining the scope and focus of the entire procedure. This is its first and its most important consideration. The scope and focus includes the areas of decisions and actions, the objectives of the whole exercise and the objectives of each area of concern, the measurement methodologies and the names of the specific documents needed for the study. The scope and focus limits the entire procedure for that one engagement being undertaken, and is agreed upon by the organization and the auditor. It likewise provides an approximation of the level of inquiry that is necessary in order to get the information needed to understand and appreciate the cooperative’s social performance.

The scope and focus may incorporate all the areas of decisions and actions that are of concern to the whole organization, or it may only cover few areas that the cooperative feels to be of pressing need at the earliest time for deeper study. Certainly, that resolve is entirely that of the organization, since taking such a comprehensive review tabs in on resources particularly if it is just starting to undertake the social audit process. It is good, of course, to look at how the organization performs in the most comprehensive way, but for practical reasons the social audit can be done piecemeal, as mentioned earlier in gradual and

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incremental manner, limiting to few areas of decisions and actions at the start, and later expanding to other decisions and actions, until the social audit can encompass the full range of issues and stakeholder interests that fall within the organization’s operational sphere and influence.

3.2 Social Accountability: Building Blocks

As described above, social accountability encompasses an extremely broad array of actions that citizens can potentially take to hold government officials and bureaucrats accountable. These actions may be carried out by a wide range of actors (e.g., individual citizens, communities, parliamentarians, CSOs, media), occur at different levels (e.g., local to national), address a variety of different issues (e.g., public policy, political conduct, public expenditures, service delivery) and use diverse strategies (e.g., research, monitoring, participatory planning, civic education, media coverage, coalition building). Despite this diversity, social accountability approaches regularly feature processes of collective interest articulation and negotiation. Beyond mere advocacy, they often also try to build a convincing evidence-base for public engagement. They normally comprise several (and, ideally, all) of the following key elements or ‘building blocks’.

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Mobilizing around an entry point

The first step of almost any social accountability initiative is the identification of an entry point and the development of a strategy whereby a priority problem can be addressed. The problem may be of a specific or general nature and may be identified at a local, regional or national level. For example, in the case of poor health service delivery, potential entry points might include national health budget allocations, corruption/inefficiencies within the national distribution system or the performance of local service providers or village health management committees. Each of these could be a serious bottleneck to delivery of health services. Potential strategies for addressing these issues could include, for example, budget analysis/advocacy activities, tracking of health inputs and/or expenditures, participatory evaluation of local health services, etc.

Building an information/evidence base

Accessing or generating relevant information and building a credible evidence base that will serve to hold public officials accountable is a critical aspect of social accountability. Social accountability initiatives often involve obtaining: (i) “supply-side” data/information (from government and service providers) and (ii) “demand-side” data/information (from users of

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government services, communities and citizens). In accessing “supply-side” information (e.g., policy statements, budget commitments and accounts, records of inputs, outputs and expenditures, audit findings , etc.), the transparency of government and its capacity to produce and provide data and accounts are crucial.22 With regard to “demand-side” information, a wide variety of participatory methods and tools (e.g., community scorecards, citizen report cards, participatory monitoring and evaluation techniques) have been developed to generate data, while simultaneously serving to raise awareness and promote local-level mobilization and organization.

Relevant data/information, once obtained, must be interpreted and analyzed in order to be rendered operationally useful. This may involve working with trained specialists (e.g., who can help to “demystify” budgets or disaggregate financial accounts) or using participatory methods to help community members or user groups analyze local data or collectively evaluate public services. In either case, the goal of the analysis is to produce meaningful findings that can be understood by all stakeholders and used to move beyond mere protest to evidence-based dialogue.

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Going public

Bringing information and findings into the public sphere and generating public debate around them are a key element of most social accountability initiatives. Be it budget details, the findings of public expenditure reviews, audits or project evaluation results, this information takes on new significance and impact when made accessible to the public at large, serving both to inform and to create an impetus for action. Effective communication strategies and mechanisms are, therefore, essential aspects of social accountability. These may include the organization of public meetings and events as well the strategic use of both modern and traditional forms of media. Transmitting relevant information to government officials who are in a position to act on it (and, ideally, interacting directly with those decision-makers on an on-going basis) is also an essential aspect of social accountability.

Rallying support and building coalitions

Informing citizens of their rights and responsibilities, engaging their interest and mobilizing them to build coalitions and partnerships with different stakeholders (like bureaucrats, media, parliamentarians, etc.) is a core aspect of social accountability. Ideally, every step of a social

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accountability initiative contributes to informing/engaging citizens and mobilizing support. The ability of citizens to organize for collective action and the capacity of CSOs to facilitate and support such mobilization are crucial to the success of social accountability initiatives. Again, reaching out to poor and marginalized segments of the population requires specific effort and remains a principal challenge.

Advocating and negotiating change

The most crucial and challenging element of a social accountability strategy is to be able to elicit a response from public officials and effect real change. The most effective strategies usually involve direct interaction and negotiation with the concerned government counterparts and, in some cases, the institutionalization of mechanisms for ongoing consultation and dialogue. As discussed above, in negotiating change, citizens’ groups employ a range of both informal and formal means of persuasion, pressure, reward and sanction. These include, for example, creating public pressure (e.g., through media campaigns and public meetings) or when necessary, resorting to formal means of enforcement (e.g., through legal and judicial processes). The space and opportunity for negotiation as well as the possibility of appeal to formal means of sanction obviously vary greatly from one country context to another. In many

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developing country contexts, citizen’s groups have found that legal and/or institutional reforms are necessary to facilitate meaningful negotiation.

3.3 Social Accountability: Critical Factors of Success

The evolution of most social accountability initiatives has been far from systematic. For the most part, measures by citizen groups to promote accountability have been opportunistic responses to particular situations. Their success has therefore also been heavily dependent on several factors. Some of these are discussed below.

Political context and culture

The parameters for social accountability are largely determined by the existing political context and culture. For example, the feasibility and likelihood of success of social accountability initiatives are highly dependent upon whether the political regime is democratic, a multi-party system is in place, basic political and civil rights are guaranteed (including access to information and freedoms of expression, association and assembly) and whether there is a culture of political transparency and probity. The existence of these underlying factors, and the potential risks that their absence may pose, must be taken into

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account when planning social accountability initiatives. Legal, institutional and socio-cultural factors will also have an important influence on the success of social accountability activities. An unfavorable context does not mean that social accountability activities should not be pursued. In such circumstances, however, an analysis of the key factors influencing the environment for social accountability (and the risks they entail) must be undertaken and appropriate strategies for addressing potential barriers developed.

Access to information

As described above the availability and reliability of public documents and data is essential to building social accountability. Such information is the basis for social accountability activities, and thus its quality and accessibility28 is a key determinant of the success of social accountability mechanisms. In many cases, initial social accountability efforts may need to focus on securing freedom of information legislation, addressing a lack of political will to disclose or strengthen the technical capacity of public institutions to record, manage and make available relevant data.

The role of the media

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The media plays a critical role in promoting social accountability. In many countries, independent media is a leading force in informing/educating citizens, monitoring government performance and exposing misdeeds. Local-level media (in particular, private and community radio) provide an important means whereby ordinary citizens can voice their opinions and discuss public issues. The extent to which media is independent and ownership is pluralistic (versus concentrated in a few hands) are important factors that can contribute to the accountability of the political system. A common element of almost all successful social accountability initiatives is the strategic use of both traditional and modern forms of media to raise awareness around public issues, disseminate findings and create a platform for public debate.

Civil society capacity

The capacity of civil society actors is another key factor of successful social accountability. The level of organization of CSOs, the breadth of their membership, their technical and advocacy skills, their capacity to mobilize and effectively use media, their legitimacy and representativity and their level of responsiveness and accountability to their own members are all central to the success of social accountability activities. In many contexts, efforts to

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promote an enabling environment for civil society and to build the capacity (both organizational and technical) of CSOs are required.

State capacity

The success of social accountability initiatives also depends upon the capacity and effectiveness of the state. Social accountability initiatives make little sense, for example, where the state machinery has collapsed or is entirely ineffectual. A functioning public administration that has some capacity to respondto citizen demands is, therefore, a prerequisite. Other aspects of state capacity that influence the success of social accountability initiatives (and that may require capacity development investments) include: the ability to produce records and accounts; the existence of conventional (“horizontal”) accountability mechanisms; the effective devolution of authority and resources; the willingness and capacity to build partnerships/coalitions; and, a political or administrative culture that values notions of public sector probity, accountability and equity.

State-civil society synergy

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Ultimately, the success of social accountability initiatives depends on some form of effective interaction between civil society and the state. Meaningful results are most likely to be achieved when citizens, politicians and bureaucrats all have an incentive to act. Ackerman (2004) points out that “unilateral state action normally ends up in manipulation, while unilateral social action often ends in repression and violence by the state” and that “the most productive results arise when both sides actively participate”. He clarifies that such mutual participation does not necessarily depend upon agreement, or trust and that even “conflict and suspicion” can lead to effective state-society synergies. The lesson is that social accountability initiatives must include both state and societal actors and focus on the interface between them (Ackerman, 2004, p.7).

Institutionalization

While ad hoc or one-off social accountability initiatives can make a difference, experience shows that impact is greatest and most sustainable when social accountability mechanisms are “institutionalized” – in other words, embedded within and systematically implemented by a civil society, state or “hybrid” institution. As discussed earlier, “external” mechanisms of social accountability can be particularly effective when combined with accountability mechanisms “internal” to the state. According to Fox (2000, p. 1), “civil society demands for

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state accountability matter most when they empower the state’s own checks and balances.” As a result, beyond seeking specific operational outcomes, social accountability initiatives should also pay attention to institutional factors and seek opportunities for influencing longer-term institutional development and/or reform. Social accountability initiatives often identify the need for institutional changes in government agencies and public services (e.g., changes in the behavior and attitudes of frontline staff, of the incentives and sanctions of a partic ular organization, its management style or decision making processes, etc.). They can go further and also play a catalytic role in bringing these changes about (e.g., by engaging with staff of health centers to regularly seek and embrace client feedback systems, setting up citizen transparency committees for local government decision-making or introducing social monitoring groups to evaluate performance of national programs or policies on an ongoing basis). Where possible, the legal institutionalization of participatory mechanisms from the level of individual programs and agencies through to the overall system level should be considered as a means to enhance long-term effectiveness and sustainability.

3.4 Designing Social Audit

3.4..1. First decide on why you are doing it:

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The toolkit can be used to create a research design that suits the particular needs of a community. With the suggested measures given in the toolkit, the Social Auditor(s) will be in a position to conduct a more in-depth analysis as to how the new welfare policies/programmes are affecting the lives and livelihoods of the target groups. The Social Audit introduces new ways of researching communities and comes out with richer and wider information than conventional forms of research.

3.4..2. Ask what you want to achieve from the audit:

The tools suggested in the toolkit can be used by the Social Auditor(s) to find areas of real concern in the community and for looking at the connections and relationships which create or undermine social capital.

3.4..3. For whom is the report being made?

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The Social Audit report is intended for government departments, community activists and other stakeholders who want to analyse the 'real' benefits of government programmes and to use the same for lobbying and other forms of social action. The users of toolkit can go through the entire framework and use the tools that suit their purpose.

3.5 Designing the Data Collection

The data collection should align with the time, resources and the needs of the community. If the data collectors haven't done any data collection exercise earlier they will need some exposure to the methods of data collection. It is necessary that the data should reflect the views of the respondents rather than the views of the researcher. Survey research is an important method in identifying the real benefits delivered to the citizens. There are a number of ways for conducting surveys and it is hard to compare the advantages and disadvantages across different types of surveys. The key to a successful Social Audit is in knowing which techniques to use and in what sequence. The Social Auditor can choose different methods so as to capture both quantitative and qualitative information from the respondent.

The different methods of survey include:

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Questionnaire Method : The information collection can be done through Postal survey: This method of survey is relatively less expensive and found to be more useful when the same instrument can be sent to a wide cross section of people. However, it is generally found that the response rate is low and this method will not help in getting qualitative information for conducting Social Audit.

Group administered questionnaire: Under this method, a sample of respondents is brought together and asked to respond to a structured sequence of questions. This method is ideal for collecting information from the group of villagers who join for village meetings and it is relatively easy to assemble the group in a village setting. This method offers a higher response rate and if the respondents are unclear about the meaning of a question they could ask for clarifications.

Household drop-off: In this approach, the Social Auditor goes to the respondent's house. This method is expected to increase the percentage of respondents. However, the applicability of this method is geographically limited, slow and expensive.

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Interview Method: The interviews can be conducted through

Personal interview: Interviews are a far more personal form of research than questionnaires and is very useful in finding qualitative remarks. This method helps to learn more about the situation in detail, to discuss issues that would be difficult to address in group situations and to reveal their personal perspectives on a particular topic. Unlike mail surveys, the interviewer has the opportunity to probe or ask follow-up questions. However, this method is very time consuming and resource intensive.

Key informants: The information collection should be at random, covering people who can represent a particular group or view point with special knowledge so as to gain insights into particular subjects.

Group interview: This method of information collection allows a focused discussion on particular issues concerning the community. This method requires less resources compared to personal interviews.

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Telephonic interview: Telephone interviews enable the Social Auditor to gather information rapidly. Like personal interviews, they help to develop some personal contact between the interviewer and the respondent and this method offers the possibility of probing into details. But some of the disadvantages of this method are, many people in villages don't have access to telephones and most of the telephone numbers are not listed publicly.

Semi-structured Interviews

Semi-structured interviews are conducted with a fairly open framework, which allows for focused, conversational, two-way communication. They can be used to both give and receive information. Semistructured interviews conducted by experienced interviewers will help to overcome the limits of the questionnaire technique by letting respondents answer and discuss in ways which allow them freedom to raise other issues. The strategy of a semi-structured interview is to prepare in advance a minimum number of questions, say 10 to 15. This small

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number should be enough to convey the focus of interviews, which allows for conversational flexibility and enables interviewers to become familiar with the subject or problem. It is critical that the interviewers are familiar with the interview guide, so that the interview can be conducted in a conversational, informal way.

Semi-structured interviews are useful for comparative listening to perspectives of diverse population and in providing the bulk of the findings. The team of interviewers must therefore be prepared to add interviews in the event that unforeseen biases or perspectives become apparent.

Semi-Structured Interviewing - Organising Tips

• The interview team should consist of two to four people of different disciplines• Begin with traditional greeting and state that you are here to learn• Begin questioning by referring to someone or something visible• Conduct the interview informally• Be open-minded and objective• Let each team member finish his/her line of questioning (do not interrupt)• Carefully lead up to sensitive questions

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• Assign one note-taker• Pay attention to non-verbal cues• Avoid leading questions that can be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’• Individual interviews should be no longer than 45 minutes• Group interviews should be no longer than two hours

Source: J. Theis and H. M Gardy, 1991, Participatory Rapid Appraisal for Community Development: A training manual based on experiences in the Middle East and North Africa, Save the Children Federation and the International Institute for Environment and Development, London.

Semi-structured Interview Guidelines

Not all questions are designed and phrased ahead of time. The majority of questions are created during the interview, allowing both the interviewer and the person being interviewed with the flexibility to probe for details or discuss issues based on the following :

1. Within structured questionnaire (limited use of some skills and rationale)2. Free-standing interview, using open-ended format or questions as triggers, to get the

subject talking3. Guided fieldwork conversations.

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a) Whom to interview? - Depends on purposeb) Whole population? - Feasibilityc)Random sample or sub-sample? - Justify by randomness and representativenessd) Theoretical sampling? - Deliberately skew towards certain social categories, occupants of certain social positions, or individualse) Individuals or groups? - Relates to fieldwork conversations/stimulates or inhibits others

present

4. Relationship between researcher and researched:

a) Issues of power and control: who's in charge? - Greater vulnerability than with fixed script

b) Structural issues of gender ethnicity, class, age, occupationc) Pitfalls of interviewing those assumed to be more powerful, less powerful, similar

positiond) Standardisation, replicability, objectivitye) Objectivity/Conformability

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In-depth Interviews

In-depth interviewing involves asking questions, listening to the answers, and then posing additional questions to clarify or expand on a particular issue. To start with, the Social Auditor should define the sample size and method which determines who will be interviewed, and the number of interviews required to collect the required information. As the second stage is to undertake in-depth interviews, the researcher should design an interview guide, which can be used as a checklist so that the interviewers can be sure that they cover each topic thoroughly.

In-depth Interview - Organising Tips

• Identifying the goal(s) of the interview• Designing an interview schedule of questions to be asked• Piloting and revising the interview schedule

o Were the questions understood as intended?o Were the planned follow-up questions useful?o Are there additional follow-up questions that should be included?o Was the sequence of questions appropriate for the purpose of the interview?

• Analysing the results of the interviews

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Source: In-Depth Interviews to Understand Student Understanding; M. Kathleen Heid; Pennsylvania State University This interview guide needs to be pre-tested in a small number of interviews to revise or refine it as needed.

In-depth discussion with the community members and other stakeholders on areas under study will provide an understanding of the beneficiaries' view of a programme and their judgement. A multi-pronged approach is needed for data collection and it should include a mixture of techniques such as desk research, field data collection, personal interviews, telephonic interviews, structured surveys and so on. A detailed guide to undertake citizens' survey is given as Appendix V.

A Checklist for Designing an Audit

1. Survey of stakeholders: A survey of stakeholders should try to cover the attitudes and behaviour and make sure that adequate number of different stakeholder groups are covered to arrive at a reliable conclusion.

2. Checking the media: Before setting out, the survey reports that have come out in the media during the recent past pertaining to the area under study, need to be looked into carefully.

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3. Survey of attitudes and behaviour of stakeholders concerned: A survey of attitudes and behaviour of an adequate number of stakeholder groups will be useful in gathering significant and reliable results. Through this survey, different stakeholders are considered and the surveyor can get a perspective of how they perceive various issues.

Group Exercise

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) has contributed a series of methods which the local people, including the illiterate, could use effectively to monitor and evaluate programmes. PRA emphasises local knowledge and enables the local people to make their own appraisal, analysis and plans. The participatory techniques such as resource mapping, mobility mapping, social mapping etc, can also be used as possible tools for conducting Social Audit. These tools, used at regular intervals, will enable the availability of time series data for evaluating the benefits of the programme and this exercise facilitates information sharing, analysis and action among stakeholders.

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Focus group interviews: Focus group research is a relatively unstructured form of data collection where small groups of community members are identified to evaluate the benefits/ costs shared among different stakeholder groups.

Key people interviews: Officials and policy makers are to be contacted for capturing their perception about the programme implementation and during interviews the Social Auditor should keep a running record of all relevant material mentioned and he/she should collect them at the end of the interview.

The survey must also collect basic statistical data on people who are being interviewed. The Social Auditor, therefore, should collect information regarding age, sex, income, employment details, education, full postal address and language spoken. This will help in comparing the findings with similar groups elsewhere.

Traditional Social Indicators

Social indicators help to identify the standard of living by identifying components of welfare and by constructing respective indicators. In the early stages of conducting Social Audit, it is always desirable to look at statistics and reports already available. Much of the

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information can be collected from different official data sources, including university research reports, reports in journals etc.

Social indicators give measurable changes in human population, communities and social relationships. Through these social indicators, the Social Auditor will be able to gather figures, statistics and findings, which could provide macro-perspectives needed for Social Audit. Following is a list of social impact indicators developed by UNEP as a sample:

List of Social Impact Assessment Variables:

Population Characteristics

Population change Ethnic and racial distribution Relocated populations Seasonal residents

Community and Institutional Structures

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Voluntary associations Interest group activity Size and structure of local government Historical experience with change Employment/income characteristics Employment equity of minority groups Local/regional/national linkages Industrial/commercial diversity Presence of planning and zoning activity

Political and Social Resources

Distribution of power and authority Identification of stakeholders Interested and affected public Leadership capability and characteristics

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Individual and Family Changes

Perceptions of risk, health and safety Trust in political and social institutions Residential stability Attitudes toward policy/project Family and friendship networks Concerns about social well-being

Community Resources

Change in community infrastructure Land use patterns/Effects on cultural, historical and archaeological resources

These variables are suggestive and illustrative and are only intended to provide a beginning for the Social Auditor(s). Though the traditional social indicators provide the broad perspective, these figures, findings and statistics alone are not enough to give a true picture of the issues concerning the people. In reality, the priorities of the community are often

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different from those designed and implemented by the policy makers and professionals. One of the major challenges of Social Audit is to enable the communities to express and communicate their realities and priorities to the policy-makers. Social Auditing tries to link micro and macro indicators and the Social Audit report attempts to influence policy-makers on how changes at macro levels can adversely affect the lives of people at large.

The Follow-up Action Plan for Social Audit

The purpose behind conducting Social Audit is not to find fault with the individuals but to assess the performance in terms of social, environmental and community goals of the organisation. The audit findings need to be owned up and internalised by the respective departments/organisations. To ensure the follow-up for Social Audit, the departments should develop an action plan with respect to the recommendations outlined in the report. Subsequently, the departments should set up a separate task force to ensure timely execution of the action plan based on guidelines given in the Social Audit report.

The success of Social Auditing depends on the follow-up action taken on the Social Audit report and the receptiveness of the departments/organisations to adopt the recommendations in the Social Audit report. The task force should suggest modalities for improving its

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performance based on the feedback received from different stakeholders. The detailed work plan needs to be identified by the task force and the same should be implemented at the earliest.

()()()()()

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CHAPTER - IV

SOCIAL AUDIT TOOLKIT4.1 Introduction

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The Social Audit Toolkit is developed to guide the government departments, community organisations and civil society groups for using Social Audit as a practical tool to identify, measure, assess and to report on their social performance. To undertake this audit, we need to agree on how to proceed, how to collect data and what data is to be collected. We need to standardise the methodologies for conducting Social Audit. The following sections of the toolkit will describe the sequential process involved in conducting the Social Audit.

Social Audit Toolkit can be used by government departments, private enterprises as well as the civil society. However, the scope in terms of audit boundaries would be specific to that of a government department, private organisation, an NGO or a community. In case of private organisations, the emphasis may be on balancing financial viability with its impact on the community and environment. In case of NGOs, in addition to using them to maximise the impact of their intervention programme, they could also be used as effective advocacy tools. Depending on the resources available Social Audit could be comprehensive, state-wide, and can also be localised to the community level.

Social Audit being a flexible tool could be used by anyone. Depending on the resources available Social Audit could be comprehensive, state-wide, and can also be localised to the community level.

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Government and Funding Agencies Government departments and agencies implementing programmes

Private Enterprises Corporate and small business enterprises

Civil Society Formal: NGOs, Universities, Colleges,Schools, and Consumer Forums……… Informal: CBOs, SHGs

4.2 Where do we start?

Social Audit is a flexible tool. It has six steps. Before taking the first step, it is important that key decision-makers have considered various aspects of Social Audit and have arrived at a consensus at various levels on undertaking Social Audit. The decision to undertake Social Audit should be internal and well considered. This would ensure that there is ownership and commitment. Willingness to be democratic, open and provide space for stakeholders would be critical for going through all the stages of Social Auditing.

It is important to note that all the six steps flow from or have to be visualised in the backdrop of the social mission of the department/programme(s) that includes: mission, vision,

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core values and core responsibilities. The organisation should identify Social Auditor(s) - individual(s) and/or organisation(s). The characteristics/profile of the Social Auditor could be:

Professionals with expertise in Social Audit; or Third party not having any direct or indirect stake in the organisation.

4.3 Six Key Steps for Social Audit

The social audit toolkit prepared by the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad, has suggested the following six steps of Social Auditing:

1. Preparatory Activities

Understand key principles of Social Audit. List core values of the department/ programmes. List down social objectives the department is working towards or programmes it aims to

contribute. Match activities with objectives. List current practices and delivery systems.

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Fix the responsibility for doing Social Audit in the department. Budget for Social Audit.

2. Defining Audit Boundaries and Identifying Stakeholders

Elaborate key issues for Social Auditing based on the social objectives. Prepare a statement of purpose, objectives, key issues and activities for Social Auditing. Identify key stakeholders for consultation (Government and Civil Society). Forge consensus on audit boundaries; identify stakeholders and formalise

commitments.

3. Social Accounting and Book-keeping

Select performance indicators for social accounting. Identify which existing records can be used. Identify what additional data to be collected, who would collect this data, when and how. Identify when stakeholders would be consulted and for what.

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Prepare a social accounting plan and timeline. Plan for monitoring social accounting activities.

4. Preparing and Using Social Accounts

Prepare social accounts using existing information, data collected and views of stakeholders.

Identify key issues for action.

Take stock of objectives, activities and core values. Set targets for future.

5. Social Audit and Dissemination

Presenting social accounts to Social Auditor. Social Auditor verifies data used, assess the interpretation and comment on the quality of

social accounting and reporting. Social accounts revised in accordance with Social Auditor’s recommendations. Social Auditor has to collect information from the stakeholders regarding

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programme implementation and benefits accrued to them. Disseminate Social Auditor’s consolidated report to the decision-making committee that includes stakeholders. Disseminate report to civil society. Begin next cycle of social accounting.

6. Feedback and Institutionalisation of Social Audit

Feedback for fine-tuning policy, legislation, administrative functioning and programming towards social objectives.

Follow-up action. Reviewing support to civil society for its participation Institutionalisation of the process. The first two steps are critical when a department decides to incorporate social

accounting, social book-keeping and Social Auditing. The department needs to look at its vision, goals, current practices and activities to identify those that are amenable to Social Auditing purposes.

Form small work groups (say, seven persons), which would spend about two days each to list down the social vision, core values, social objectives and map stakeholders and their

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involvement. Ensure involvement of various functionaries, with due representation to gender, while forming small groups.

The small groups should have access to project documents, process documentation, department guidelines and policy notes.

The next activity would be to assign the task of matching the activities with the social objectives and identify gaps. This again could be carried out by a small group drawn from the managerial cadre and execution or implementation groups at the field level.

All this information would be then looked into; to develop a plan for Social Auditing, including who would be responsible in the department, monitoring and identifying the resources required. This responsibility again could be given to a small group of three individuals.

Stakeholder consultation, involving department functionaries and civil society, would be the forum for sharing the Social Audit plan. This consultation would clarify the issues important for Social Auditing, role of stakeholders, as well as commitments from them.

The outcome of the consultation would feed into the process of detailing out: the indicators to be monitored; which existing records to be used; and how additional information would

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be collected. The next key step is to fix responsibilities for various activities. The activities include preparing the formats for social account-keeping, compilation of data and reporting the same on a monthly basis (internal use). Managers of the department/programmes can use this information for monitoring as well as providing feedback for improving performance and overcoming bottlenecks.

Social Audit subscribes to good governance principles of participation, inclusiveness and consensus. To translate these into activities, a department can start the preparatory activities during any time in a financial year; form a small group, which would go through relevant documents and lists down core values and social objectives. The group would ideally spend about two days to complete this task. They would prepare a small note providing appropriate references to documents or based on the discussion among themselves and colleagues in the department.

The Social Audit Network (SAN) has identified three steps to Social Accounting and Audit, preceded by a Getting Ready stage and preparing the organisation before embarking on the process.

Getting Ready: The organisation learns how social accounting works, what resources it requires, decides how the process will be managed; and makes an informed decision about

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whether to go forward. Often, this is done in conjunction with an orientation or a ‘taster session’ in which representatives of the organisation explore the process of social accounting.

Step 1 Planning: In the first stage of social accounting, the organisation clarifies its mission, objectives and activities as well as its underpinning values. It also analyses its stakeholders through completing a ‘stakeholder map’. These exercises help the organisation to make explicit what it does, why and how it does it, and who it works with and whom it seeks to benefit. 

Step 2 Accounting: In this phase, an organisation decides the ‘scope’ or focus of the social accounts, especially if it will build a comprehensive picture over time. The organisation then sets up ways of collecting relevant information over a period of time to report on performance and impact against its values and its objectives, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative. The information is then brought together and analysed.

For a social audit to be meaningful it must study areas of decisions and actions and use indicators that are relevant to the organization. The key is to choose variables on the basis of reasoning and knowledge of their significance — not just because they can be measured – and to choose indicators that can measure accurately these variables. Any projected impacts should be identified, including potentially negative ones. These projections can guide decisions

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about what to measure and how. The usefulness of variables and indicators is enhanced when there is some way to set the information in context, such as clearness of the rationale about why these are the ones to assess, or comparability of the information to past performance or appropriateness of the information to become a baseline against which to compare future results, or comparability to an appropriate external benchmark, or compatibility to goals or targets set by the organization or to regulatory standards. Social audit literatures are only just beginning to come to grip with the importance of methodology. But as it is at present, being still an evolving field, it now integrates certain principles and practices of the social sciences. This is especially the case when the auditor wants a representative sampling of the perceptions and motivations of various stakeholders or wants to assess more deeply the social consequences of organizational outputs.

4.4 Social Audit Unit

Gram Sabha is, perhaps, the best social audit unit in our new democratic institutions (Mathew, 1999). To day the Panchayats provide the best fora to implement social audit. On 4 July 1996 the Kerala Government constituted a Committee on Decentralisation with Dr.Satya Brata Sen as its Chairman. For effective social audit, the Sen Committee had suggested setting up of committees by Panchayats at various levels. First, Social Audit Committees are

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compulsory at the Block Samiti and the District Panchayat levels, consisting of respected citizens and professionals, to audit developmental programmes whenever they deem it appropriate. Second, special women’s watchdog committees should be there at the level Gram Panchayats and Municipalities. It should have two nominees of each Gram Sabha or Wards Committee, one being a member of the Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled Tribe. Such committees would have the same rights as social audit committees and would scrutinize costs, estimates, the quantity and quality of materials used in works, adherence to norms in selection, etc. (Rasquinha, 1977).

The Satya Brata Sen Committee has also suggested several means to facilitate the social audit: (a) Making all estimates, list of beneficiaries, assistance given in each scheme, muster rolls, bills, vouchers, accounts, etc., open documents for scrutiny by any citizen and providing photocopies of them on payment of actual cost. (b) Stipulating that all applications for various licenses, permits, certificates given to Local Self Government Institutions are given a queue number and this priority should not be violated. Registers indicating date of application and date of clearance in each case should be available for reference by any applicant. If possible copies should be published in the notice board. (c) Making public, assessment of tax, grant of exemption, etc., to ensure that there are no complaints of undue preferential treatment to

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some people (Rasquinha, 1977). If these guidelines are followed, then social audit will become a powerful social institution (Mathew, 1999).

4.5 Levels of Inquiry in Social Audit:

Social audit by its very nature deals mostly with reports on outputs - to document what the organization is actually doing and how it is doing. Given such, at the most elementary level, social audit may be made only to report on some data, or perhaps some statistics, and the task may be quite simple and the data readily available, and even if at times the data are difficult to find and calls for knowledge and skill with information sources, little is presented in terms of inferences or conclusions. Or, at the second level, the social audit may call for description to answer on questions of who, what, when, where, and sometimes how, and involves only single variable frequency distribution or even multivariate relationships or multiple variable cross-tabulations with little inferences or correlations gained, but still little is given in terms of explanation or prediction.

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So, after gaining a handle on these outputs, the natural flow of an inquiring mind goes and begins to shift focus to “so what?” or why certain results happen the way they happen. In other words, the concern is now shifted to the effects of these outputs to the individuals who are direct beneficiaries of the output and to the communities of these individuals. This is indeed a reality. Can the organization claim to be accomplishing what it has intended or what was intended? This is one significant challenge. Here, it has to be established that the impact that shows up is really the result of an input that the organization had made, and not a consequence of some other factors.

In the study of outcomes, the auditor needs to build a theory, also called a hypothesis, of the effects of organizational outputs on the community, given the various factors that co-exist within it. The theory gives focus and accounts for all the forces that caused a certain phenomenon to occur, as it guides the direction of the study, limits what shall be studied and provides a framework for organizing the conclusions that will come out.

The study of outcomes is truly a difficult one. One possible way is to put comparatives for each area of concern being measured, and comparatives of the organization’s targets. Another is the use of multiple indicators of the same area of concern or variables and multiple measures of each indicator. And still another is studying the convergence of all findings or

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finding the causes of the findings. And above all, it is also necessary that the social audit begin now to employ various methods of inquiry such as interviews, surveys, compilation of statistics, case studies, and many others.

4.6 How does one conduct a social audit of a policy/law?

Singh (2007) argues that whereas the process of conducting a social audit for policies and laws is not very different from that of conducting such an audit for specific schemes, as described a little later, obviously some of the questions asked and the issues discussed differ. Therefore, given below is a sample of generic questions that need to be raised, both about the process of formulation, and the outcome, of a policy or law.

A Sample Set of Generic Questions Relating to the Social Audit of a Policy/Law

Stage Process questions Outcome questions

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1. Identifying the issue

Who all were involved in identifying the issue? Were they appropriately representative?

Has the correct issue been identified? (e.g. Providing assured employment to rural populations; facilitating people’s access to information; providing a humane process and package for resettling people displace by development activities).

Were they adequately and appropriately informed? (e.g. Given clear and understandable documentation in local languages, with enough time for assimilation?)

Has the issue been formulated appropriately? (e.g. Is employment formulated as a right? Has the right to information been recognised as a fundamental right with minimum exclusions? Has displacement been seen as the last possible resort?)

Were the views of all the stakeholders given due importance?

Is it really the highest priority from among the various issues that could have been identified? (e.g. NREGA,

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should the right to universal health or universal education be given a priority over this right?)

Was the process appropriately transparent?

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2. Formulating the policy/law.

Who all were involved in formulating the policy/law? Were they appropriately representative?

Is the policy/law desirable? ( eg. NREGA, would this divert too many financial resources from other, more important issues, or would it make people dependent on government schemes?)

Were they adequately and appropriately informed?

Does the policy/law protect all relevant interests, especially those of the weakest/least articulate? Is it just? (eg Rehab. Policy, does the policy protect the interests of project proponents, especially, does it protect the interests of the landless, the widows, and the host communities?)

Were the views of all the stakeholders given due importance?

Is it implementable in part or whole? (eg. RTI Act, will it work if the information commissions are

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manned by bureaucrats? Eg. Rehab. Policy, would the rehab. policy work if there is no independent rehab. Commission?)

Was the process appropriately transparent?

3. Implementing the policy/law.

Who is implementing the policy/law? Are these individuals/institutions appropriate?

Is the policy/law having the intended impact? (eg. For RTI, is it leading to greater empowerment of the people and lessened corruption and mal-governance?)

Is it being implemented in an appropriate manner?

If not, why not?

Are all the resources required available and the individual and institutional capacities in position?

Is it having any unintended and undesirable effects? (eg. For RTI, is it leading to paralysis in government functioning, or delays in decision making?)

Is the implementation appropriately transparent?

If so, why? How can this be prevented?

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4.7 What is involved in conducting a social audit for a scheme/programme?

According to Singh (2007), a social audit is conducted over the life span of a scheme or programme, and not just in one go or at one stage. The activities that constitute a social audit include:

d. Making people aware of their rights, entitlements and obligations under the scheme/programme.

e.Specifically, making them aware of their right to participate in the ongoing process of social audit.

f. Making sure that all the forms and documents are in simple, easily understandable, language and structure and available in local languages.

g. Also ensuring that all relevant information is publicly displayed on boards and through posters and is also read out at appropriate times for the convenience of the people, especially those who cannot read.

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h. Ensuring that the decision making process, especially for those decisions that are critical and/or vulnerable to distortions, is transparent and open and carried out, as far as possible, in the presence of the affected persons.

i. Making certain that all decisions, along with reasons, as appropriate, are also communicated as soon as they are made to the affected people, and in manner that makes it easy for them to comprehend.

j. Where there is a need for measuring, inspection or certification, ensuring that randomly selected individuals, from among the affected persons, are involved on a rotational basis.

k.Also ensuring that members of the public and especially those directly affected, are facilitated to inspect and verify records, inspect works and generally monitor planning and implementation.

l. Where required, to have a formal public hearing (jan audit manch) where pertinent information is put before the public and verified in consultation with the affected persons.

m. Ensuring that the findings of the social audit process are acted upon as they become available and that apart from addressing the specific issues, systemic changes are also brought about.

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Singh (2007) describes step by step the process of conducting a social audit for specific schemes or programmes, to help those from among the government and people’s institutions who want to organise a social audit. The specific examples taken are from the NREGA. However, though the general structure will remain the same for all schemes and programmes, specific changes will need to be incorporated for each scheme in order to accommodate the unique characteristics of each scheme.

Step 1: Study the details of the scheme and familiarise oneself with all the provisions and requirements of the scheme and of the Right to Information Act.

Step 2: Identify the various stages of the scheme, especially those where decisions have to be made, beneficiaries identified, sites selected, strategies determined, details specified, etc. Given below is an example from the NREGA of identification of stages.

For the NREGA, which provides employment as a right, the identification of stages can be best done in terms of the entitlements provided under the act. These are:

1. The entitlement to register one’s family.2. The entitlement to a job card.

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3. The entitlement to apply for work.4. The entitlement to participate in the process of preparation of shelf of projects/

selection of sites.5. The entitlement to participate in the development & approval of technical

estimates/issuance of work order.6. The entitlement to get work allotted within fifteen days of applying for it. 7. The entitlement to participate in the supervision of works.8. The entitlement to receive full wages for the work done, as per the prescribed rates.9. The entitlement to receive unemployment allowance, if work is not allotted in the

stipulated fifteen days.10. The entitlement to be involved in the evaluation of the works undertaken under this

act.

Step 3: For each of these stages, identify the vulnerabilities, in terms of what can go wrong, what can be corrupted, what distortions can occur or what biases can creep in. Given below is an example of possible vulnerabilities from the NREGA. Detail methodology for conducting a social audit for activities under the NREGA are given in chapter 3. Similarly, details of how to

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integrate social auditing into the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and the Integrated Child Development Programme (ICDP) are given in chapter 6 and 7 respectively.

ENTITLEMENT VULNERABILITIESThe entitlement to register one’s family as Potential Beneficiaries In The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

1. Absence of the concerned functionary.2. Denial of registration to persons applying to the scheme3. Incomplete list of adults in each household4. Registration of bogus families/individuals

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5. Rejection of “incomplete” registration forms.6. Asking for money for registering names/ families.

The entitlement to a job card 1. Delay in receiving job cards2. Issuance of false cards3. Issuance of cards to ineligible persons

a. To non-residentsb. To minorsc. To those not members of the listed family

4. Non-issuance of a job card5. Asking for money for issuing job card.

The entitlement to apply for work 1. Non-acceptance of work application by the relevant functionary

2. The wrong date or no date recorded on the work application.

3. Rejection of “incomplete” formsThe entitlement to participate in the process of preparation of shelf of projects/ selection of sites to be taken up in a particular Ward Sabha and/or Gram sabha.

1. Selection of a low priority or inappropriate work.2. Selection of work that serves a vested interest.3. Lack of public participation/ consultation for selecting

work/sites.

The entitlement to participate in the 1. Exaggerated/ inaccurate technical estimates.

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development & approval of technical estimates/issuance of work order

2. Inclusion, in estimate, of unnecessary expenditure.3. Excessive rates and material.4. Unclear work order that does not make the details of the

work clear/leaves scope for mis-interpretation.

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The entitlement to get work allotted within fifteen days of applying for it

1. Giving out-of-turn allotments.2. Favouring or discriminating against people in allotting

type/location of work.3. Not respecting the gender quota.4. Not informing the applicant and then showing him/her as

absent.5. Demanding money for allotting work

The entitlement to participate in the supervision of works.

1. Recording of non-existent (ghost) workers.2. Recording of fictitious (Ghost) works.3. Work not conforming to work specifications/ prescribed

standards4. Supply of less than sanctioned/poor quality materials and

tools.The entitlement to receive full wages for the work done, as per the prescribed rates.

1. Non-payment of wages2. Late payment of wages.3. Under payment of wages.4. Payment of wages to the wrong person.5. Payment of wages in the name of non-existent (Ghost)

workers.6. Payment of wages for non-existent projects.

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The entitlement to receive unemployment allowance, if work is not allotted in the stipulated fifteen days

1. Denial of unemployment allowance by wrongly accusing a person for not reporting to work

2. Late payment of unemployment allowance3. Payment of unemployment allowance to the wrong

person4. Payment of unemployment allowance to non-existent

(ghost) persons.5. Demand of bribe for paying allowance.

The entitlement to be involved in the evaluation of the works undertaken under this act

1. Taking and/or recording of improper measurements2. Not consolidating the information regarding the works in

one place.3. Issuing of false completion certificates4. Works not conforming to specifications/ standards.5. Data recorded in a confusing/ Incomprehensible manner.

The entitlement to participate in a People’s Audit Meeting (Jan Audit Manch), where all the projects and activities related to the NREGA are assessed and publicly verified.

1. No public hearing actually takes place, but is shown on paper to have taken place.

2. The public hearing is manipulated so that only those interested in one point of view are allowed to attend.

3. People are prevented from fully participating or from speaking the truth.

4. The hearing is disrupted by rowdy elements.

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Step 4: Identify, for each stage, the appropriate measures to be taken to ensure that the identified vulnerabilities are addressed through the relevant social audit mechanisms. These could include one or more of the measures listed at point 6 above and essentially includes making all relevant information available publicly, ensuring that critical decisions are made jointly with the affected people and in their presence, and that the process of verification, measurement and certification is done with the involvement of the affected people.

Step 5: Identify the functionaries and institutions that would be responsible for ensuring that the social audit is conducted, and conducted properly (see chapter 5 for allocation of responsibility in the NREGA).

Step 6: Call a meeting of the village/community and discuss the principles and method of social auditing in detail with them.

Step 7: Ensure that the identified institution and functionary complies with all the requirements of a social audit.

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Step 8: Every six months, prepare for a public hearing or a Jan Audit Manch. In this manch, the affected persons collectively review the process of social audit. Also reviewed is the progress of the scheme. The reports and data related to the scheme are publicly verified and people are given an opportunity to discuss their problems with the implementing institutions, and understand their problems. A step by step guide to how a jan audit manch is to be carried out is given below, with examples of how they can be applied to various schemes and programmes in chapters 5, 6 and 7).

Experiments in Social Audit from Vithura Panchayat, Kerala

The decentralisation process in Kerala is unique not only in terms of the functions and finances transferred to the local self-governments. It has also provided scope and space for transparency and accountability to the people in a major way. During this process, a few Grama Panchayats have gone far ahead of others in experimenting with various mechanisms for social audit.

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Vithura was one such panchayat which tried to create a transparent local self-governance system with people's participation. Right from plan formulation to implementation and to the extent of plan monitoring and evaluation was entrusted to the people. The key for success behind the Vithura experiment was a well designed organisational setup, where people's committees were formed and made functional. The different types of committees that were formed are: neighbourhood groups consisting of 50 neighbouring houses, ward development committees, panchayat level academic committees, subject groups, panchayat level women's committee, panchayat level monitoring committee, children's forum, people's committees for social audit etc. All these had specific roles to play in the planning and implementation stages of developmental programmes.

The social accounts were presented to the Grama Sabhas in printed form, by the panchayats. It was presented in the Grama Sabha in such a way that any person could understand and question any irregularity in the activities of the panchayats. The difference with Vithura model of social audit is that it is not an audit after the implementation. The people's committees mentioned above were given information about the activities regularly and they were empowered and supported by the panchayat committee to monitor the activities. Thus, these committees were active throughout the process of planning and implementation. The basic structure of the Vithura social audit mechanism was as follows:

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The basic structure of the Vithura social audit mechanism was as follows:

1. From each Grama Sabha, three persons were elected to be a part of the panchayat level social audit committee.2. Each one will be a part of one of the sector group like productive, service and infrastructure sectors.3. These committees conduct the audit and their report is presented in the Grama Sabha.4. All the officers of the panchayat including that of the line departments will be present in the Grama Sabha to clear doubts with relevant documents.

Thus, a strong social audit mechanism was experimented at Vithura, a Grama Panchayat in Trivandrum district of Kerala.

4.8 What is a Jan Audit Manch (People’ s Audit Manch)?

Apart from the ongoing process of social audit (described above), singh (2007) argues that there should be a mandatory periodic review of all aspects of social audit in ward sabhas (where they exist) and in the Gram Sabha, meetings to be held at least once every six months

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for this purpose (to be called “Jan Audit Manch”). These will not only give people an opportunity to review compliance with the ongoing requirements of transparency and social audit for any scheme, programme or project, they will also serve as an institutional forum where people can conduct a detailed public audit of all the decisions that have been made and the work that has been carried out in their area in the preceding six months.

The importance of this platform is not only the independent value of publicly auditing a particular scheme or work, but also that it provides an opportunity to review the functioning of all the transparency provisions at various points in the implementation of the scheme or activity, with beneficiaries and all the stakeholders residing in the area. The social audit compliments the financial audit, and facilitates examination of various aspects of the scheme/project/activity by the people. This is beyond the scope of the financial audit. It provides an institutional platform for people to seek and obtain information, verify financial expenditure, examine the provision of services, assets or entitlements, the reflection of priorities through choices made, quality of work, and quality of services of the staff, etc. While the social audit must be seen as an ongoing process, the ward/gram sabha Jan audit manch is a crucial platform for ensuring peoples participation in all aspects of the audited entity.. Because of the requirement to read information out aloud, the manch facilitates the participation of people who don’t have the literacy skills to understand documents. It is

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therefore mandatory that such social audits be conducted on a bi-annual basis, and that the concerned officers be made responsible for ensuring they take place.

4.8.1 How to conduct a Jan Audit Manch?

The Jan Audit Manch has three phases: The preparatory phase, the organisational phase, and the implementation phase.

A. The Preparatory Phase

The success of a social audit is dependent on the open and fearless participation of all the people- particularly the potential beneficiaries of the programme. Effective public participation is dependent on adequate publicity about the meeting as well as informed public opinion, dependent on prior information provided to people in a demystified form.

Publicity

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It must be ensured that sufficient publicity be given to the date, time, importance and sanctity of the social audit, so that maximum participation is ensured. This must be facilitated through at least the following measures:

People should be aware of the months when the Jan Audit Manch is to be held so that it becomes a regular event that people are aware of. The governments should issue instructions about the time of year when it is convenient for people to attend such meetings

Announcement of the specific date, time and location of the Jan Audit Manch at least one month in advance.

Use of traditional modes of publicity like informing people through beating of drums, and modern means like mike announcements.

Notices on the notice board, in newspapers, and through pamphlets etc. Conducting these audits in a campaign mode so that the entire administration gears up

to meet the institutional requirements of the manch, and the campaign encourages people to attend.

Preparation of Documents

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The full and efficient participation of people in the social audit manch is dependent on full information. This is not only facilitated through easy access to all documents and information while the scheme/activity/works are in progress, but preparing for the social audit by collating information and demystifying the information so that people can look at summaries of information before the social audit, and these summaries can be read out aloud during the Jan Audit Manch. In this connection it is essential that:

All the relevant documents, including complete files of the works or copies of them be made available for inspection at the gram panchayat office at least fifteen days in advance of the jan audit. There should be free and easy access to all residents of the panchayat to these documents during this period, and no fees should be charged for inspection. During this period, if anyone wants copies of the documents, they should be provided at cost price as soon as possible, but no later than five days of the request being made.

Summaries of muster rolls and of Bills, where relevant, must be prepared (in a specially designed format) in advance for presentation in the Jan Audit. If possible, these summaries should be put onto charts for public display on the day of the jan audit, and to put up at the panchayat office during the fifteen day pre-audit phase

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The original files should be available on the day of the jan audit, so that any information can be cross checked

The activities/works to be taken up for audit should be listed in advance, and the list should be put up on the notice boards, along with the other items on the agenda

B. The Organisational Phase

The Jan Audit Manch is a platform where the independence and facilitating nature of the institutional arrangements will contribute directly to its credibility. It is essential to ensure that proceedings are conducted in a transparent and non-partisan manner, where the poorest and most marginalized can participate and speak out in confidence and without fear. Care has to be taken that the manch not be manipulated by vested interests. Towards this end:

The time of year for the manch meetings must be such that it is convenient for as many residents to attend- in particular, those who are directly involved with the entity being audited, and all marginalized communities.

The timings must similarly be convenient so that women can also attend.

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The quorum of the manch must be the same as for all gram sabhas, and the quorum must be maintained as per separate categories (in a specially designed format) Social audit objections must however be recorded at all times, and lack of a quorum should not be taken as a reason for not recording objections.

The social audit Manch must be chaired by an individual independent of the implementing agencies in the panchayat. The ward panch/ panchayat president must not chair this meeting.

The secretary of the manch must also be an official from outside the panchayat. The person responsible for presenting the information should not be a person

responsible for implementing the work. The vigilance committee, or a school teacher for instance could be considered for the purpose of reading aloud the information as per the required format.

All officials responsible for implementation must be required to be present at the jan audit manch and be required to answer querries from members of the gram sabhaa.

Decisions and resolutions must be made by vote, but dissenting opinion must be recorded.

Minutes must be recorded as per the format (in a specially designed format), by a person from outside the implementing agencies, and the minute register must be signed by people at the beginning and end of the meeting (after the minutes are written).

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The agenda (generic agenda given below) must be gone through including the transparency checklist, and all objections recorded as per format (in a specially designed format).

The action taken report of the last social audit must be read out at the beginning of each jan audit manch.

In addition, every district should also have a team of technical people from outside the district (with the appropriate expertise, for example in engineering, accountancy, etc.) who will help in the preparation of information for dissemination, who will attend selected jan audits, take detailed notes, and immediately after the jan audit, visit all the sites and conduct detailed enquiries where people have testified that there is corruption.

During the jan audits, right to information provisions and ward sabha social audit manuals, should be publicized so that this serves as an ongoing training for the public vigilance process.

C. The Implementation Phase

The agenda for the social audit in the gram sabha must include a checklist to review whether norms, provisions, rules and guidelines are being followed. The questions and issues raised in the jan audit manch would include:

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a) Whether the process of identifying beneficiaries (where relevant) was

conducted in a transparent manner Was a list prepared of all the possible beneficiaries? Was the first identification/selection done in a special ward sabha/gram sabha

conducted for the purpose? Was the list of identified/selected persons read out for verification in the Gram sabha? Is the list of beneficiaries updated on an ongoing basis? Is the updated list regularly put up on the Panchayat notice board? Are there any eligible beneficiaries who have been left out of the list?

b) Whether the applications for benefits/entitlements being dealt with appropriately?

Where potential beneficiaries have to apply for their benefits/entitlements, are their applications being received and acknowledged?

Are they getting their benefits appropriately and in time? Is the distribution of benefits/entitlements being done in a transparent manner, with

lists being put up on the panchayat notice board for public notice and display?

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Are there any pending complaints about the receipt of applications, the allotment of benefits/entitlements, etc.?

c) Transparency in the sanction of work/project/activity

Was the sanctioned work/ activity appropriate and optimal? Was the final identification done in a transparent manner with the involvement of local

stake holders? Was there involvement of the local stake holders in the preparation of the technical

estimate? A list of all the works/activities sanctioned in the six month period must be read out

aloud, along with amount sanctioned, and amount spent on the works. Has the list of work/activities sanctioned been made public through notice boards etc.,

and kept updated?

d) Transparency in the implementation of work

Was there a board on the work site giving details of sanctioned amount, work dimensions, and other requisite details?

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Was an open transparency meeting held before commencement of the work to explain the work requirements to the workers, including the labour and material estimates as per the technical sanction?

Were the muster rolls (where relevant) available for public scrutiny at all times at the work site?

Was there a work site material register maintained, along with verification by at least five workers whenever material came to the site?

Was a daily individual measurement of work conducted in a transparent manner where piece rate norms were in force?

Was the measurement of the work done by the junior engineer in the presence of a group of workers?

Were any complaints made? Were they addressed within prescribed/appropriate period by the grievance redressal authority?

Was an open transparency meeting held within seven days of the completion of the work, where all those who worked on the site, and residents of the village where the work took place are invited to look at the entire records. Compliance of the requirement to hold this meeting must be made necessary before the completion certificate is issued

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e) Making of wage Payments (where relevant)

Were wages paid within prescribed/reasonable period? Were wages paid at a designated public place at a designated time? Were all payment details available for public scrutiny before the payments were made

(for example, by putting up muster roll copies on notice boards etc)? Were payment details read out aloud in public while making payments” Were payments made by an agency other than the one implementing the work Was compensation given as per the provision of the payment of wages act for late

payments? Are there any wage payments which are still due?

f)Post Facto auditing of the records and accounts of each work undertaken

Does the file have all the documents required? Were all the documents available for scrutiny at least 15 days before the jan audit

manch? Were charts prepared of the summary sheets for public display and scrutiny before and

during the social audit?

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The muster roll summary (where relevant) must be read out aloud to check for discrepancies.

The summary of the bills must be read out aloud to check for discrepancies. The measurement book summary (where relevant) must be read out aloud The photographs taken, before, during, and after the work must be available for public

display and scrutiny during the jan audit manch.

4.9 What resources are needed?

Leadership

One person or a group of people will lead on the social accounting work. The involvement and commitment of the organisation’s senior management are essential. It is recommended that staff at all levels be involved with consulting stakeholders and measuring progress, performance and impact. 

Proficiencies or skills

It is helpful for someone on staff to have experience with social research, e.g. surveys and other methods of consultation. If the organisation doesn’t have this proficiency, it may be helpful to bring in some outside assistance.

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Staff time

Staff time is required throughout the social accounting cycle. Generally more time is needed to set up the process at the beginning and to compile, analyse and write up the information at the end.

Courses, support, and information

Nearly all organisations find introductory sessions to be very useful, and many require ongoing support throughout the process, depending upon their skills and experience, and the internal time they are able to dedicate to the process, especially in the first round of accounts. Consultants may also help with consulting stakeholders – providing someone impartial to help collect difficult or sensitive information – or to help compile and analyse information. The SAN Social Accounting Manual and AA1000 Assurance Standard are available to assist organisations in the process.

4.10 How Core Values are linked to Indicators?

Indicators reflect the tangible outcomes of the values, which could be measured. They are the key building blocks for understanding overall performance, social responsibility and social

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benefits. These indicators are derived from the values of the department/programme, stakeholders or society.

Values of the departments/organisations are reflected in their mission statements, programme and project objectives. Good governance principles, which form the core values of any government department, are also translated into performance indicators. Staff expectations and satisfaction, beneficiary expectations and satisfaction, and other indicators identified through stakeholder consultations are also measured through direct or indirect indicators. Societal core values are those that are made explicit through norms and codes, and in terms of expectations, which could be matched with the performance of the department/ programme on outputs/outcomes or impacts.

The following three tables list out the values, information areas and indicators, separately for department/organisation, stakeholders and society/community/groups within. This is a useful indicative list. A department/organisation has to undertake a consultative process to identify and prioritise indicators, which are specific to its aims and activities. It is important that the indicators are context-specific and address stakeholders' and society's concerns.

4.11 How do we identify the Indicators?

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Consultative process is the only suggested means for identifying the indicators. As a first step, a small group, consisting of say 3 to 5 individuals, who are drawn from the department /organisation, should take the responsibility for listing down the values, objectives and indicators of the department. A stakeholder consultation would be the larger forum, which could discuss this further and add indicators relevant from stakeholders' point of view and societal values. It depends on for whom we are developing the indicators.

The selection of indicators should be completely based on the communities’ requirements regarding the type of advancement they would like to capture. While some communities develop indicators within the framework of sustainability, others use the framework of healthy communities or quality of life. Whatever be the framework for identifying the indicators, government departments, NGOs and other civil society organisations can bring many different sectors of the community together, foster new alliances and relationships, provide all citizens with a better compass for understanding community problems and assets, and drive community change. Unique partnerships for improving communities can be formed as community members begin to appreciate the linkages among seemingly unrelated aspects of community life. For example, a government department may see a new correlation between new jobs created, better housing and increased access to health-care, whereas an

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environmentalist may comprehend the new developments as an increase in environmental planning and protection.

4.12 How do we select good Indicators?

Indicators could be direct or indirect (proxy). Indirect indicators are used if collecting data on direct indicators is time-consuming, unreliable or expensive. For Social Auditing purposes, it is important to select indicators that could reliably measure changes brought about by the programme as well as social benefits.

Valid — measure what they are intended to measure and capture effects due to the programme intervention rather than external factors;

Reliable — verifiable and objective so that if measured at different times or places or with different people, the conclusions would be the same;

Relevant — directly linked to the objectives of the programme intervention; Technically feasible — capable of being assessed and measured;

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Usable — the indicator should be understandable and ideally provide useful information to assess programme performance and for decision-making;

Sensitive — capable of demonstrating changes and capturing change in the outcome of interest (national per capita income is unlikely to be sensitive to the effects of a single intervention);

Timely — possible to collect relatively quickly; Cost-effective — the information provided by the indicator is worth the cost to collect,

process and analyse; Ethical—collection and use of the indicator is acceptable to those providing the

information.

4.13 Who are the Stakeholders?

Stakeholders are those

whose interests are affected by the issue or those whose activities strongly affect the issue;

who possess information, resources and expertise needed for strategy formulation and implementation;

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who controls implementation and instruments.

For any department, the stakeholders are the department staff at different levels, other line departments and the beneficiaries in the project area.

Is it necessary to involve Stakeholders in Social Audit?

Stakeholders are the extension of the department as they influence, execute or facilitate department functioning. Social Audit thus needs to encompass their views on service delivery as well of those seeking benefits from the department. The following are the principles for identifying stakeholders.

Inclusive - do not leave out any stakeholder who is affected or is impacted; Representative - of different segments in the society; both male and female, sub

segments of beneficiary, geographically representative; Relevant - includes only relevant stakeholders; those who have important stakes in the

process;

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Balanced - is not skewed towards understanding only implementation mechanisms or benefits reached to the community, but instead gains a balance that would yield comprehensive assessment at all levels of implementation.

Their participation in Social Audit would serve following purposes:

Assessing the benefits as perceived by the beneficiaries; Giving the department an opportunity to seek suggestions for optimising efforts; Contributing towards initiating ownership among all stakeholders.

Stakeholder Consultation

Identified stakeholders should meet twice or more depending on the requirement to discuss values, audit boundaries, indicators and involvement of stakeholders in the process of Social Audit. It should be one or two days of consultative workshop using participatory methods. To begin with, the stakeholders should be organised for identifying values and audit areas. This would also help in preparing the Social Audit plan and in identifying the extent of involvement of different stakeholders. Subsequently, the stakeholders should finalise the

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indicators and finally the consultation should result in a detailed report including an action plan.

How do we identify Stakeholders?

To identify stakeholders and their roles and to ensure their involvement, the department needs to address the following:

The stakeholders of any organisation can be identified from different sectors who are directly or indirectly involved in the programme or the organisation. These could be from both the implementation sectors and the users/beneficiaries of the programme/organisation. Generally, stakeholders can be identified based on immediate and long-term benefits in relation to the objectives of the programmes. For example, if the programme selected is 'women empowerment through formation of self-help groups and micro credit societies', to enlist stakeholders and collect information on how these processes have contributed to empowerment, the stakeholders should include not only those who are current members of micro credit societies or self help-groups, but also involve those who have benefited from the process to truly assess the achievement of the women empowerment objective.

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Further, in the context of understanding the outcome of the project activities contributing towards generation of social capital and benefits at the societal level, the assessment through an inclusive approach also needs to assess the perceptions and views of those who are not benefited through programme activities. This approach, thus, ensures the involvement of nonbeneficiaries as stakeholders in the process of Social Audit.

The different stakeholders in programme implementation generally include the Government (policy makers, officials, local government functionaries, department staff at different levels, and other line departments), NGOs, civil society groups, and the direct beneficiaries (primary stakeholders). A comprehensive list of all the stakeholders affected both positively and negatively by externalities of the programme can be put in order based on their interests/benefit and sacrifice in any programme.

Some of the other questions that need to be answered in the process of identifying stakeholders are:

How do we rate their awareness about the department programmes and functions? On what aspects do we need information from the stakeholders? Are we seeking qualitative, quantitative, or process information from the stakeholders?

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How do we involve Stakeholders in Social Audit?

Stakeholders’ involvement should not be an ad hoc get together or a meeting to seek their feedback as a token involvement. This needs to be integrated into the Social Audit process during the planning stage, and indicators on which information will be sought from the stakeholders need to be detailed out. Not all stakeholders will have information on all aspects of the department’s programme and functions. Social Audit tools of assessment such as public meetings, stakeholders’ workshops, beneficiary survey and focus group discussions in combination with other tools such as Venn diagram etc, can be used for obtaining information sought from the stakeholders.

4.14 Preparing the Final Report

Given that Social Audits are always undertaken in the context of a project/programme the result obtained must be of direct relevance to the activity. Thus, in addition to generating

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descriptive information, Social Audits are designed to produce recommendations for changes to the current or planned policies and programmes. The Social Audit report should fairly represent the views of all the stakeholders involved in the process. The Social Audit report needs to be done in ways which recognise the needs of the readers.

At this stage, the Social Auditor should think as to what he/she wants to put into the final report. These are some of the suggestions:

The final Social Audit report should focus on mapping the core objectives of the department/programme and the conclusions arrived;

Identify the needs of the readers and make the report relevant to them; Be selective but do not leave out important findings, which may affect what people do with

the report;

Discuss the findings with others involved and put it together in various ways until it seems to be good.

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After collecting adequate information using some of the tools mentioned above, the Social Auditor should collate the information and prepare the Social Audit report. The following sections give a brief overview for processing the data and preparing the Social Audit report.

Processing the data: All the data collected from secondary sources on different parameters covering socio-economic indicators as well as primary information collected from the field need to be tested against the core values/objectives of the department/institution. For analyzing the data collected, the Social Auditor should group all the data on particular items together and tabulate them across different stakeholder groups.

Content analysis: Here the Social Auditor should analyse the value perceived by different stakeholder groups as to the value delivered by the government department/institution concerned.

Drafting the report: Drafting the report needs to be done in a way which recognises the needs of the reader or audience; the conclusions put in the report should be linked to the original purpose for which the Social Auditing was designed.

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Harmonisation: The Social Auditor needs to recognise the fact that the concept of Social Audit may not be familiar to the policy makers and the executive. So while furnishing the findings of Social Audit report, the researcher may need to explain why they had chosen to use that particular methodology and what is being highlighted in the final report as major findings.

Presentation of final report: Many of the stakeholders may not read the whole report, but will be interested in the summary and conclusions. So the Social Auditor should make these points clear and comprehensive.

Sample Social Audit Report: A typical Social Audit report would have about six chapters:

Executive summary

Chapter I _ Context_ Objectives_ Methodology

o Basic Approach

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o Sample – identification of stakeholders, selection of villages, etc.o Audit areas and indicatorso Data collection instrumentso Data collection

_ Primary_ Secondary

o Techniques of analysiso Report format

Chapter IISocial accounting and book keepingChapter IIIPerception of policy makers, departments, line departments and NGOsChapter IVPerception of beneficiaries and communityChapter VConsolidated view of Social AuditChapter VI

_ Summary and conclusion_ Implications for policy, programme and implementation

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Reporting Sheets

As an example, participation of stakeholders during planning, implementation and monitoring is shown in the following tables. The first table shows audit areas, indicators and the achievement score. How to calculate achievement score is given in the second table. One can use the Venn diagram to visually represent the performance of the identified indicators. Greater distance between the circles indicates lower degree of participation, whereas overlapping of circles indicates higher degree of participation.

()()()()()

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CHAPTER - VSOCIAL AUDITS AND THE

RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT

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5.1 Using The RTI Act For Social Auditing

One essential and critical requirement for conducting social audits is the availability of all relevant information and decision-making processes that are totally transparent. The beginning of social auditing owes much to access to information, especially to bills, vouchers and muster rolls related to expenditure by Panchayats and other government institutions. Initially, this information had to be accessed despite stout resistance from the concerned officials, and without legal backing. Initial right to information acts, in some states, though relatively weak and ineffective, provided some legal basis for accessing these documents. Fortunately, a very powerful and comprehensive national Act was passed in 2005. The Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 significantly facilitates the process of conducting social audits. There are many provisions in the RTI Act that directly support public scrutiny of schemes and programmes.

Section 4 (1)(b) of the RTI Act lists the information that public authorities need to make public suo moto. This includes information relating to the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions (S. 4(1)(b)(iv)) ; the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions (S. 4(1)(b)(v)); the

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particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by, the members of the public in relation to the formulation of its policy or implementation thereof (S. 4(1)(b)(vii)); the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursements made (S. 4(1)(b)(xi)); the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and the details of beneficiaries of such programmes (S. 4(1)(b)(xii)); particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by it (S. 4(1)(b)(xiii));. Therefore, this information is required to be publicly available for all programmes and schemes, without being asked for.

In addition, section 4 (1)(c) of the RTI Act requires that each public authority “ publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public” (emphasis added). This ensures that the public has an opportunity of evaluating draft public policies while they are being developed. They also have the option to evaluate all decisions in terms of the facts on which it was based.

Similarly, section 4(1)(d) requires all public authorities to “provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to affected persons”. Therefore, each public authority is already required, under the RTI act to give reasons for all decisions made relating to the

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implementation of any scheme or project, to all the affected people. This makes the conduct of a social audit very much easier.

The RTI Act also allows any one to access information regarding the functioning of a scheme or project even after it is completed, by filing a specific request. Therefore, people incharge of implementing schemes and projects are conscious that their records can be publicly scrutinised at any time, even years after the event. This is a great deterrence to those who might be able to manipulate a clean official audit and think that once the formal audit is over they are safe from public scrutiny.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the RTI Act is that it has made people aware that they have a right to access information, a right that is legally enforceable, and is not restricted to just a few bits of information but covers almost all the information that they might be interested in. The RTI act not only assures them of this but also, given the penalties that are prescribed for illegitimate delay or refusal, ensures that they can exercise this right and actually get this information.

The RTI Act guarantees to the people that they can always, on their own, conduct a social audit of any scheme or programme that they think needs their scrutiny, even if the concerned

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public authority has not organised a social audit. They can independently access this information and ask explanations of the government. The fact that the RTI Act allows them to do this is makes it futile for public authorities to avoid holding formal social audits or holding them only on paper.

A brief description of the RTI act is given below.

5.2 The Right To Information Act 2005

Coverage

The RTI Act 2005 covers all central, state and local government bodies and, in addition to the executive, it also applies to the judiciary and the legislature. It covers all bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed, either directly or indirectly by the government, and non-governmental organisations and other private bodies substantially funded, directly or indirectly, by the government. This would seem to include private schools, hospitals and other commercial institutions that have got subsidies in the form of land at concessional rates or tax concessions, among others.

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Apart from these, the law, interestingly, also covers the private sector as it provides the citizen access to all information that the government can itself access through any other law currently in force.

Definitions

The Act gives a detailed definition of the term ‘information', and significantly includes "opinions and advices" as subject to disclosure. This clearly means that file notings are also to be disclosed, unless their content falls under one of the exemptions specified in section 8 of the act. The definition of ‘information’ also includes the right to inspect work, documents and records held by the government, and allows for the extraction of certified samples for verification. Therefore, the act moves beyond the realm of files and documents and enables the public to actually examine the field reality.

Process of Access

The Act has set out a relatively simple process for accessing information. Each public authority must appoint a Public Information Officer (PIO), who accepts requisitions and

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provides information. The PIO must ordinarily respond to a requisition within 30 days, but extensions are allowed in some cases, for example when a third party is involved. Information relating to the life or liberty of a person must, nevertheless, be provided in 48 hours.

Exemptions

The Act exempts certain categories of information from disclosure. Included are the obvious exemptions of information, the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence; or information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court. It also exempts information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature.

Information, including commercial confidences, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, or information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, is also exempt. However, there is a public

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interest override that specifies that such information can be made public if the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.

Also exempt is information received in confidence from foreign governments, or information, the disclosure of which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identity the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes.

Though cabinet papers, including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers are exempt, the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were made becomes accessible after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over, unless they are exempt under any other section of this Act.

Also exempt is information that might violate copyright, except that of the state, or personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual. However, here also it can be disclosed if larger public interests so warrants.

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There are some general clauses qualifying the exemptions. These include a clause that specifies that any information that cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature cannot be denied to any person. Also, where a part of a document is exempt the whole document cannot be withheld. thus, the section that contains exempt information can be removed, and the remaining part disclosed..

In another clause, it is stated that notwithstanding the exemptions specified in the law or provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, “a public authority may allow access to information, if public interests in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.” In addition, most of the exempt information becomes accessible after twenty years.

Complaints and Appeals

The Act envisages the setting up of independent Information Commissions, one at the centre and one at each state, comprising one Chief Information Commissioner and up to ten Information Commissioners. Complaints against violations of provisions of this act can be made to the Information Commission. The act also provides for two levels of appeals against the PIO, the first to an officer senior to the PIO, and the second to the central or state Information Commission, against delay in supplying, or refusal to supply, information by the

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PIO. The section on appeals specifies that the onus of proof that the denial of a request was justified would be on the PIO. This necessitates the appellate authorities treating all information as “disclosable” unless proved otherwise. The act also specifies that appeals should be disposed off within 30-45 days.

Penalties

The Act stipulates penalties for PIOs found to be in violation of the act. For unreasonable delay, the Information Commission can impose penalties at Rs. 250 per day, and also penalise for refusal to accept requests, for malafide destruction of information, knowingly giving false information etc., with an upper limit of Rs. 25,000. However, PIOs are given immunity for actions done in good faith.

Universal Access

The Act also has provisions to ensure that all categories of people, especially the rural and urban poor, can access information,. Towards this end, the act specifies that fees would be reasonable, and must be waived for persons below the poverty line. There is no need to give reasons for requisitioning information, nor for providing information about yourself beyond

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your contact details. The government is also obliged to assist all requisitioners to formulate requests, especially in the case of sensorily challenged individuals.

Suo Moto Disclosures

Public authorities are obliged to publish a great deal of information suo moto, including relevant facts while formulating policies and making policy decisions. They are also bound to explain quasi-judicial decisions to affected persons and to raise awareness and educate the public about the law.

5.3 Integrating Social Audits Into The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

A. Integrating Social Auditing

The NREGA provides to the people certain entitlements. These are:

1. The entitlement to register one’s family.2. The entitlement to a job card.

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3. The entitlement to apply for work.4. The entitlement to participate in the process of preparation of shelf of projects/

selection of sites.5. The entitlement to participate in the development & approval of technical

estimates/issuance of work order.6. The entitlement to get work allotted within fifteen days of applying for it. 7. The entitlement to participate in the supervision of works.8. The entitlement to receive full wages for the work done, as per the prescribed rates.9. The entitlement to receive unemployment allowance, if work is not allotted in the

stipulated fifteen days.10. The entitlement to be involved in the evaluation of the works undertaken under this

act.

In order to ensure that each individual has the opportunity to get all that he/she is entitled to, the process of social audits has been integrated and institutionalised in the process of implementing this act and certain measures have been provided for to ensure full transparency and participation of all stakeholders. These measures, as they correspond to each specific entitlement, are listed below. Also listed are the dangers that confront the

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potential beneficiary, as they try and get what they are entitled to. What each individual needs to do, in order to ensure that these measures are effective, has also been indicated.

Sn

.

ENTITLEMENT DANGERS TRANSPARENCY AND SOCIAL AUDIT MEASURES TO BE INITIATED BY THE

GOVERNMENT (With suggested action by the people in bold italics)

1. The entitlement to register one’s family as Potential Beneficiaries In The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

[Responsibility to register: Gram Sewak/ GP Secretary]

1. Absence of the concerned functionary.

2. Denial of registration to persons applying to the scheme

3. Incomplete list of adults in each household

4. Registration of bogus families/individuals

5. Rejection of “incomplete” registration forms.

6. Asking for money for registering names/ families.

3. The process of registration is required to be transparent. As per the rules, it must be carried out publicly with facilities for people to verify their own details, or those of others.

4. Initial registration would be carried out in a special gram sabha convened for the purpose.

The people must attend all such gram Sabhas in large numbers and be vigilant. They must carefully observe the process to ensure that no outsiders or ineligible people are being registered, but they must also watch the entries that are being made and check from time to

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time that only eligible persons are being registered.

Where an eligible person or family is being denied registration, the people must always be ready to intercede on their behalf and question the concerned functionaries on why these eligible persons are being denied registration Where the concerned functionaries are not co-operative, the people must jointly complain to the relevant authority.

5. A prior survey has to be conducted by the

gram panchayat to enumerate all the families and their adult members who are eligible to register. This is supposed to be the basis for ensuring that all persons who are eligible and wish to be included in the scheme, are accounted for.

6. This enumeration is also supposed to help in preventing the registration of fictitious/ineligible names, but is not to be used to exclude the eligible who might not

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have been listed.Where there is any doubt about any family, the people should insist on consulting this survey.They should also demand to see the enumeration to ensure that no eligible person has been left out.

7. Subsequent to the initial registration, there must be a public reading in the Ward & Gram Sabha of:

Lists of all households registered under the scheme

Lists of adults in each household registered under the scheme

8. A form, with a tear away receipt at the bottom, must be used for registration, and the receipt given to the registered person/family

9. If a form is incomplete in any way, it would

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be the responsibility of the concerned functionary to have it completed there and then.

10. The final list of registered families/adults must be verified, and complaints of exclusion settled.

Again, the people must attend all such ward and gram Sabhas in large numbers and be vigilant. They must carefully listen to the names, as they are being read out, and be ready to raise objections if any ineligible or fictitious names have been included.

Where an eligible person or family has been denied registration, the people must demand their inclusion. If this is denied, then they must collectively complain to the relevant authority.

They must also examine the lists that are being read out, in order to ensure that what is being read out is not different to what is on the list.11. The final list must be put up for public

display at the Gram Panchayat office and

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updated every three months. The people must ensure that this list is put up and regularly updated, and also that it is authentic and does not contain any fictitious/ ineligible names. 12. Subsequent to the initial registration, the

process of registration must remain perpetually open at the gram panchayat.

The people must also monitor this and if there is any problem in eligible people registering their names subsequent to the initial registration, this must be taken up with the concerned functionary and, if necessary, with higher authorities.

2. The entitlement to a job card

[Responsibility for timely distribution: Gram Sewak/ GP Secretary]

3. Issuance of cards to ineligible personsa. To non-residentsb. To minorsc. To those not

members of the listed family

4. Non-issuance of a job card5. Asking for money for

1. There is a one month time limit for the supply of job cards, from the date of registration.

2. The list of job card holders must be updated every month, and be available for inspection at the Gram Panchayat office

3. A file containing photocopies of all job cards issued must be open for inspection at the Gram Panchayat office.

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issuing job card.

The people must ask the concerned functionaries to explain the reasons for any delay in distributing job cards over and above the prescribed time limit. If necessary, the RTI Act can be used to get this information. Where the reasons for delay are not justifiable, or where there is a very long delay, the matter must be taken up by the people with the higher authorities.

The people must also examine the list and file on a regular basis to monitor whether the distribution of job cards is on schedule and being done in a fair manner.

3. The entitlement to apply for work

[Responsibility to receive and

1. Non-acceptance of work application by the relevant functionary

2. The wrong date or no date recorded on the work

1. Individuals are entitled to send applications for work by post or to deliver by hand.

2. They have a right to an immediate, written, signed and dated receipt.

Insist on a written and dated receipt.

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acknowledge applications: Sarpanch]

application.3. Rejection of “incomplete”

forms

3. A date wise list, that is updated weekly, must be displayed at the Gram Panchayat office, along with a register detailing the applications received.

The people must regularly check this list and ensure that the information is correct.4. If an application is incomplete in any way, it

is the responsibility of the concerned functionary to have it completed. Applications cannot be rejected just because they are incomplete.

The people should insist on this.

4. The entitlement to participate in the process of preparation of shelf of projects/ selection of sites to be taken up in a particular Ward Sabha and/or Gram sabha.[Responsibility to

1. Selection of a low priority or inappropriate work.

2. Selection of work that serves a vested interest.

3. Lack of public participation/ consultation for selecting work/sites.

1. The shelf of projects/ works/sites to be taken up must be determined by the gram sabha.

2. They must also be assessed for relevance and priority by the gram sabha

3. A list of the finally selected projects, works, and sites, in their order of priority, must be publicly displayed at the Gram Panchayat office.

The people must insist on deciding the projects

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facilitate this: Sarpanch]

and sites that are to be taken up. They should

participate fully and actively in the process and

ensure that the final list contains only those

project sand sites, and in the order of priority,

decided by them.

5. The entitlement to participate in the development & approval of technical estimates/issuance of work order

[Responsibility to facilitate: Junior Engineer/ Sarpanch]

1. Exaggerated/ inaccurate technical estimates.

2. Inclusion, in estimate, of unnecessary expenditure.

3. Excessive rates and material.4. Unclear work order that does

not make the details of the work clear/leaves scope for mis-interpretation.

1. Technical estimate has to be done with the involvement of the local people, and has to be approved by the gram sabha.

The people must participate in this exercise and ensure that the estimates are realistic, that the rates being quoted are as per local availability and that no unnecessary items of expenditure are being included.2. The format for the technical estimate must

be simple and understandable by the people.

3. Similarly, the sanction and work order format must be people friendly.

4. This format must be put on public display so that people can access this information and understand the details of the work.

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The people need to remain vigilant and check the final estimate and work order to ensure that they are in accordance with what was collectively decided.

6. The entitlement to get work allotted within fifteen days of applying for it

[Responsibility: Sarpanch]

1. Giving out-of-turn allotments.

2. Favouring or discriminating against people in allotting type/location of work.

3. Not respecting the gender quota.

4. Not informing the applicant and then showing him/her as absent.

5. Demanding money for allotting work

1. All work allocation registers have to be maintained for public scrutiny at the gram panchayat office.

2. It is the duty of the concerned functionaries to ensure that the public is informed through notice boards and through other measures ( like drum beating) every time a new batch of work is allotted. The date up to which work has been allocated must also be made public every time work is allocated.

3. A specific day (typically Sunday – as it is a holiday) and a specific time and place (typically at the gram panchayat office) will be fixed to disburse information about the EGA.

4. On that day, the public will be informed of the work allotted or ready to be allotted, along with the names of allottees, their date

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of application, location and type of work, and other relevant information, including explanation of how the job card works.

5. At these meetings, for each of the work allotted, the wage norms will be explained to the people and put up on the notice board. The questions that must be answered include:a. What is the wage?b. What is the wage norm (How much

per day/how many of what will constitute a full days work).

It is very important that as many people as possible attend these weekly meetings, on the designated day. They must be vigilant and ensure that all the stipulated information is given to them and must also verify the fairness and authenticity of the list of allotted work.6. There will be individual measurements of

each persons work, unless a group collectively decides to have joint measurements.

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This is a right, and must be insisted upon by the people.

7. The entitlement to participate in the supervision of works.

[Responsibility to facilitate: Gram Sewak]

1. Recording of non-existent (ghost) workers.

2. Recording of fictitious (Ghost) works.

3. Work not conforming to work specifications/ prescribed standards

4. Supply of less than sanctioned/poor quality materials and tools.

1. A board with details of work – estimates and running costs – material, labour and funds, will be put up at every site, and updated regularly. The format will be user friendly.

2. The muster rolls will be accessible upon demand.

The people must periodically verify the information on the board and in the muster rolls.3. Every week five randomly selected workers

will have to verify and certify all of bills/vouchers of their work site, before they are passed.

The people must ensure that the five workers selected are all reliable and independent of the authorities. These five workers must verify all the documents after carefully checking them.4. A copy of the sanction/work order will also

be available for public inspection orders at the work site.

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5. There would also be provisions for access to samples of works, to be taken as per the procedure developed for the RTI Act.

The people must also periodically ensure that the work is going as per the sanction/work order. They must also take random samples of the material as this would put pressure on the authorities to ensure that standards are maintained.6. A daily materials-register must be kept, and

verified by five randomly selected workers every day.

The people must ensure that the five workers selected are all reliable and independent of the authorities. These five workers must verify the daily materials register after carefully checking the relevant facts.

7. The daily/individual measurement records for each work and worker must be available for public inspection.

This will only be an effective check if people regularly inspect these records and ensure that

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they are accurate.8. The entitlement to

receive full wages for the work done, as per the prescribed rates.

[Responsibility: An independent functionary ]

1. Non-payment of wages2. Late payment of wages.3. Under payment of wages.4. Payment of wages to the

wrong person.5. Payment of wages in the

name of non-existent (Ghost) workers.

6. Payment of wages for non-existent projects.

1. Payments will be made in a Public place on fixed days (like in the weekly Sunday meetings) to ensure that there can be no ambiguity regarding payments

2. All recipients and amounts of payment will be read aloud to ensure that the illiterate are not cheated, and also to check ghost payments.

3. A list detailing all payments to be made will be put up in a public and easily accessible place prior to the reading aloud of the list.

The people must attend, as already stressed before, these meetings and must remain vigilant, carefully listening to the list, as it is read out. They should also verify the authenticity of the list that is pasted.

4. Provisions will be made to facilitate payments through the post office and other financial institutions.

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5. Payments will be made, as far as possible, by an agency independent of the implementing agency.

6. Disclosure of piece rate measurement will be made individually, and not en masse so as to provide each worker with his/her due exactly. This would prevent division of the wage earned by ghost workers etc.

9. The entitlement to receive unemployment allowance, if work is not allotted in the stipulated fifteen days

[Responsibility: Project Officer/Gram Sewak]

1. Denial of unemployment allowance by wrongly accusing a person for not reporting to work

2. Late payment of unemployment allowance

3. Payment of unemployment allowance to the wrong person

4. Payment of unemployment allowance to non-existent (ghost) persons.

5. Demand of bribe for paying allowance.

1. A weekly public announcement of work allocation will be made, and work allocation orders will be displayed publicly (see 6 above).

2. Payments will be made in a Public place on fixed days (the fixed Sunday) to ensure that there can be no ambiguity regarding payments

3. All recipients and amounts of payment will be read aloud to ensure that the illiterate are not cheated, and also to check ghost payments.

4. A list detailing all payments to be made will be put up in a public and easily accessible

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place prior to the reading aloud of the list.5. Provisions will be made to facilitate

payments through the post office and other financial institutions.

6. The Gram Panchayat will automatically generate, each week, in advance of the weekly meeting, a list of those eligible for receiving the allowance.

The people must attend, as already stressed before, these meetings and must remain vigilant, carefully listening to the list, as it is read out. They should also verify the authenticity of the list that is generated by the Gram Panchayat.

1

0.

The entitlement to be involved in the evaluation of the works undertaken under this act

[Responsibility: Gram Sewak/ EG Officer]

1. Taking and/or recording of improper measurements

2. Not consolidating the information regarding the works in one place.

3. Issuing of false completion certificates

4. Works not conforming to specifications/ standards.

1. Verification of works, for conformity with work order in terms of specifications and quality, will be carried out by a Ward/Gram Sabha.

2. An assessment of relevance of new works, along with appropriateness, will also be carried out by a Ward/ Gram Sabha.

The people must participate in the verification and assessment exercise, and ensure that the

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5. Data recorded in a confusing/ Incomprehensible manner.

work done conforms with what was commissioned and is of use to the people.3. Completion data will be made public in a

people friendly format.

1

1.

The entitlement to participate in a People’s Audit Meeting (Jan Audit Manch) , where all the projects and activities related to the NREGA are assessed and publicly verified.

[Responsibility: Gram Sewak/ EG Officer

1. No public hearing actually takes place, but is shown on paper to have taken place.

2. The public hearing is manipulated so that only those interested in one point of view are allowed to attend.

3. People are prevented from fully participating or from speaking the truth.

4. The hearing is disrupted by rowdy elements.

1. Comprehensive public hearings will be held, relating to works and individual entitlements, bi annually at the Ward/Gram Sabha level for all works completed in that period. The details of the requirements for this public hearing are given in the next section.

2. On a random sampling basis, these hearings will be attended by state/central observers and also by independent research groups.

3. Wherever possible, audio-visual records of the public hearing will be maintained.

This peoples audit meeting (Jan Audit Manch) is perhaps the most important

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element of the social audit and people must participate fully in this and raise issues, without fear or favour, in order to ensure that the NREGA is being properly implemented.

5.4 Institutional Structures

Though the main responsibility of ensuring that all these measures are properly and faithfully implemented would be primarily of the panchayati raj institutions, with the gram sabha being involved in all decision making and in planning, monitoring and evaluation, the people will have to ensure that the PRIs do what is necessary. The sarpanch, the gram sewak, and the gram panchayat secretary will be the critical functionaries. The junior engineer, the project officer and the EG officer (as and when he/she is appointed), would also share some of the responsibility.

State and Central Monitoring

As per the obligations under the NREGA, the over all responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the NREGA rests with the Central and the State Governments. In order to

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fulfil this obligation, the state and central governments will designate a sufficient number of state and central observers who would, on a random sampling basis, attend the bi-annual public hearings and determine the state of implementation. It would be important for the people to ensure that these observers are made aware of the true nature of things and that all problems and complaints are brought to their notice.

In addition, both the state and the central governments will also sponsor independent surveys through reputed institutions that can, at a community and household level, collect information about the functioning of the REGS. A related exercise can also assess, in retrospect – say after two years, the durability, maintenance and public utility of the assets created. Again, the people must assist in the carrying out of these surveys and ensure that all critical facts are made available to the surveyors.

Capacity Development

If the process of social audit has to be effectively used, the capacities of the people and people’s organisations will be developed and they would be familiarised with the method and oriented towards the philosophy. For this, a network of institutions is being identified and a cadre of trainers are being trained.

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Complaints and Grievance Redressal Mechanism

If the social audit process is to be successful, there has to be an effective institutional mechanism that can deal with complaints and grievances, and functions transparently, while providing some protection to vulnerable individuals and families. The functioning of this mechanism would be within time bound norms and it would be answerable to the affected people for its actions and inaction.

()()()()()

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CHAPTER - VIMETHOD OF ORGANISING A PEOPLES AUDIT MEETING (JAN AUDIT MANCH)

6.1. Mandatory Social Audits in the Gram Sabha

Apart from the ongoing process of social audit enumerated above, there will be a mandatory periodic review of all aspects of social audit in ward sabhas (where they exist) and in the Gram Sabha meetings to be held at least once every six months for this purpose (To be called “Jan Audit Manch”). These will not only give people an opportunity to review compliance with the ongoing requirements of transparency and social audit, they will also serve as an institutional forum where people can conduct a detailed public audit of all NREGA work that has been carried out in their area in the preceding six months. The importance of this platform is not only the independent value of publicly auditing a particular work, but also that it provides an opportunity to review the functioning of all the transparency provisions at various points in the implementation of the act with beneficiaries and all the stakeholders residing in

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the area. The social audit compliments the financial audit, and facilitates examination aspects of the programme by the people. This is beyond the scope of the financial audit. It provides an institutional platform for people to seek and obtain information, verify financial expenditure, examine the provision of entitlements, the reflection of priorities through choices made, quality of work, and quality of services of programme staff. While the social audit must be seen as an ongoing process, the ward/gram sabha Jan audit manch is a crucial platform for ensuring peoples participation in all aspects of the NREGA. Because of the requirement to read information out aloud, the manch facilitates the participation of people who don’t have the literacy skills to understand documents. It is therefore mandatory that such social audits be conducted on a bi-annual basis, and that programme officers be made responsible for ensuring they take place.

There are three essential aspects regarding the bi-annual Jan Audit manch: The Publicity and preparation before the social audit takes place; Organisational and procedural aspects of the social audit; and the mandatory agenda for all aspects of an EGA social audit.

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The Preparatory Phase

The success of a social audit is dependent on the open and fearless participation of all the people- particularly the potential beneficiaries of the programme. Effective public participation is dependent on adequate publicity about the meeting as well as informed public opinion, dependent on prior information provided to people in a demystified form.

Publicity

It must be ensured that sufficient publicity be given to the date, time, importance and sanctity of the social audit, so that maximum participation is ensured. This must be facilitated through:

People should be aware of the months when the Jan Audit Manch is to be held so that it becomes a regular event that people are aware of. State Governments should therefore issue instructions about the time of year when it is convenient for people to attend such meetings

Announcement of the specific date, time and location of the Janta Audit Manch” atleast one month in advance

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Use of traditional modes of publicity like informing people through beating of drums, and modern means like mike announcements,

Notices on the notice board, in newspapers, and through pamphlets etc Conducting these audits in a campaign mode so that the entire administration gears up to

meet the institutional requirements of the manch, and the campaign encourages people to attend

Preparation of Documents

The full and efficient participation of people in the social audit manch is dependent on full information. This is not only facilitated through easy access to all documents and information while the works are in progress, but preparing for the social audit by collating information and demystifying the information so that people can look at summaries, of information before the social audit, and these summaries can be read out aloud during the Jan Audit Manch. In this connection it is essential that:

All the relevant documents, including complete files of the works or copies of them be made available for inspection at the gram panchayat office atleast fifteen days in advance of the jan audit. There should be free and easy access to all residents of the

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panchayat to these documents during this period, and no fees should be charged for inspection. During this period, if anyone wants copies of the documents, they should be provided at cost price as soon as possible, but no later than five days of the request being made.

Summaries of muster rolls and of Bills must be prepared (see format) in advance for presentation in the Jan Audit. If possible, these summaries should be put onto charts for public display on the day of the jan audit, and to put up at the panchayat office during the fifteen day pre-audit phase

The original files should be available on the day of the jan audit, so that any information can be cross checked

The works to be taken up for audit, should be listed in advance, and the list should be put up on the notice boards, along with the other items on the agenda

6.2 Requirements for the Jan Audit manch

The Jan Audit Manch is a platform where the independence and facilitating nature of the institutional arrangements will contribute directly to its credibility. It is essential to ensure that proceedings are conducted in a transparent and non-partisan manner, where the poorest and

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most marginalized can participate and speak out in confidence and without fear. Care has to be taken that the manch not be manipulated by vested interests. Towards this end:

The time of year for the manch meetings must be such that it is convenient for as many residents to attend- in particular, those who are EGA workers, and all marginalized communities

The timings must similarly be convenient so that women can also attend The quorum of the manch must be the same as for all gram sabhas, and the quorum

must be maintained as per separate categories (see format) Social audit objections must however be recorded at all times, and lack of a quorum should not be taken as a reason for not recording objections

The social audit Manch must be chaired by an individual independent of the implementing agencies in the panchayat. The ward panch/ panchayat president must not chair this meeting

The secretary of the manch must also be an official from outside the panchayat The person responsible for presenting the information should not be a person

responsible for implementing the work. The vigilance committee, or a school teacher for instance could be considered for the purpose of reading aloud the information as per the required format

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All officials responsible for implementation must be required to be present at the jan audit manch and be required to answer querries from members of the gram sabhaa

Decisions and resolutions must be made by vote, but dissenting opinion must be recorded.

Minutes must be recorded as per the format (see format), by a person from outside the implementing agencies, and the minute register must be signed by people at the beginning and end of the meeting (after the minutes are written)

The agenda (given below) must be gone through including the transparency checklist, and all objections recorded as per format (see format)

The action taken report of the last social audit must be read out at the beginning of each jan audit manch.

In addition, every district should also have a team of technical people from outside the district (engineers and accountants) who will help in the preparation of information for dissemination, who will attend selected jan audits, take detailed notes, and immediately after the jan audit, visit all the sites and conduct detailed enquiries where people have testified that there is corruption.

The report of these sample jan audits and the reports of the technical team should be submitted to the district employment guarantee council in a specified time frame for necessary action.

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During the jan audits, right to information provisions, ward sabha social audit manuals, should be publicized so that this serves as an ongoing training for the public vigilance process.

6.3 The Agenda for the Gram Sabha Social Audit

The Agenda for the social audit in the Gram sabha must include the following:

A checklist must be prepared to review whether norms and provisions in the Act, rules and guidelines are being followed: a) Whether the process of registration was conducted in a transparent manner

Was a list prepared by the panchayat of all the possible households who might seek registration.

Was the first registration done in a special ward sabha/gram sabha conducted for the purpose

Was the list of registered persons read out for verification in the Gram sabha Is Registration Open in the panchayat on an ongoing basis

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Is the registration list regularly updated and put up on the Panchayat notice board Is there anyone remaining who wants to register, but who has not yet been registered

b) Whether Job cards were prepared, issued, and updated in a transparent manner

Were job cards issued within one month of registration Is the list of job cards regularly updated, and put up on the panchayat notice board? Is a file containing photocopies of all job cards available for inspection in the panchayat

office Was the job card issued free of cost, or was there a charge imposed for issuing the job

card Is there anyone who has not received a job card, or is there any other pending complaint

c) Whether the applications for work are being treated as per norms

Are workers receiving dated receipts for their application for work Are people being given work on time Is the allotment of work being done in a transparent manner, with lists of work allotments

being put up on the panchayat notice board for public notice and display

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Are those who have not been given work on time, received unemployment allowance? How many people have outstanding payments of unemployment allowance, and are they being compensated for late payments as per the guidelines?

There must be a reading aloud of a list of workers who have received unemployment allowance (if any) in the last six months, along with the amounts disbursed, and the basis for calculation of the amounts

Are there any pending complaints about the receipt of work applications, the allotment of work, and the payment of unemployment allowance

Is the gender quota being satisfied in the allotment of work Is the roster based on date of application received being followed for the allocation of work Are those who are allocated work outside the five km radius being given extra payment

equal to 10 % of the minimum wage

d) Transparency in the sanction of work

Was the shelf of projects prepared in the Gram sabha

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Was the technical estimate prepared by the Junior Engineer along with the residents of the village

Were the works sanctioned from the shelf of projects as per norms? A list of all the EGA works sanctioned in the six month period must be read out aloud,

along with amount sanctioned, and amount spent on the works. This list must include works sanctioned from both the panchayat/ and non panchayat list which were undertaken within the ward/ gram panchayat

Has the Panchayat board been updated with the list of works painted on it (see format)

e) Transparency in the implementation of work

Was there a board on the work site giving details of sanctioned amount, work dimensions, and other requisite details (see format)

Was an open transparency meeting held before commencement of the work to explain the work requirements to the workers, including the labour and material estimates as per the technical sanction (see simplified format)

Were the muster rolls available for public scrutiny at all times at the work site Was there a work site material register (see format) maintained, along with verification by

at least five workers whenever material came to the site

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Was a daily individual measurement of work conducted in a transparent manner where piece rate norms were in force

Was the measurement of the work done by the junior engineer in the presence of a group of workers

Did members of the vigilance committee make regular visits to the work site, and monitor the implementation of various aspects of the work

Were any complaints made? Were they addressed within seven days by the grievance redressal authority as specified in the guidelines

Was an open transparency meeting held within seven days of the completion of the work, where all those who worked on the site, and residents of the village where the work took place are invited to look at the entire records. Compliance of the requirement to hold this meeting must be made necessary before the completion certificate is issued

f) Making of wage Payments

Were wages paid within seven days Were wages paid at a designated public place at a designated time Were all payment details available for public scrutiny before the payments Were made (through putting up muster roll copies on notice boards etc)

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Were payment details read out aloud in public while making payments Were payments made by an agency other than the one implementing the work Was a record maintained of payments made beyond the specified time limit Was compensation given as per the provision of the payment of wages act for late

payments Are there any wage payments which are still due

g) Post Facto auditing of the records and accounts of each work undertaken

Does the file have all the documents required (see file check list and format) Were all the documents available for scrutiny atleast 15 days before the social audit

meeting Were charts prepared of the summary sheets for public display and scrutiny before and

during the social audit The muster roll summary must be read out aloud to check for discrepancies(see format) The summary of the bills must be read out aloud to check for discrepancies (see format) The measurement book summary (see format) must be read out aloud The photographs taken, before, during, and after the work must be available for public

display and scrutiny during the social audit

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Was the vigilance committee formed as per norms Has the vigilance committee submitted its report (see format) The report of at least the following aspects of the vigilance committee and its findings

should be read out and form the basis of discussion in the ward/gram sabha- a) quality of work b) work dimensions c) selection of location d) were minimum wages paid e) were wages paid on time f) have all bill payments been made g) were there any complaints made to them during the work h) what redressal took place for complaints or grievances. i) were the work site facilities made available j) what are the maintenance requirements of the project

h) Other general issues connected with EGA works

There must be an action taken report prepared by the programme office on the resolutions and findings of the last social audit read out aloud at the beginning of each meeting

Are there any general maintenance issues to be looked at related to development works in the panchayat

Has the last financial audit report been submitted? It should be made available to the social audit manch, and audit objections if any should be read out aloud

Any UCs or CCs issued since the last social audit should be read out aloud

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Are there any persons with outstanding wages or unemployment allowance to be paid? These should be listed and reported to the programme office for necessary action

Are all the boards in the panchayat updated as per requirements. The services of the EGA staff like the Panchayat Rozgar sevak, and the junior engineer, and

any other staff, need to be audited for quality of service. The timely flow of funds from the programme office to the gram panchayat needs to be

monitored

THE PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING A MODEL SOCIAL AUDIT

NoticePublicisingQuorum (category wise)Minutes (as per format)Chairing the sessionPresenting the information

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Keeping minutesMode of decision making- vote, consensus, dissent

CHAPTER VII

SOCIAL AUDITING A TRAINING MODULE

7.1 Objective:

The objective of this training module is to equip government servants, representatives of people’s movements and NGOs, and members of local communities to conduct social audits for a variety of programmes and schemes.

7.2 Methodology:

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This is a “hands-on” training module where theoretical knowledge and simulation is supplemented by being involved in the actual process of social auditing. Consequently, only those who are both trainers and practitioners of social auditing can impart the training described in this module. The module complements the manual on social auditing that has been prepared by the Centre for Equity Studies and MKSS, with the support of the NIRD. This module is designed for a seven-day training programme.

Note: The details of the training module would have to be modified depending on the scheme being audited and the details of the area and community involved in the social audit.

7.3 Training Schedule:

First day

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Half day

1. Introduction to the concept of a social audit

2. Contrast it with other types of audits.

3. Discuss advantages and constraints of social audits.

4. Describe the history of social auditing.

5. Introduce case studies and show films.

Half day

6. Introduce the participants to the social audit manual.

7. Explain the steps of social auditing.

8. Describe, in detail, how each step is to be carried out.

9. Introduce the problems that can be faced in each step.

10. Do a mock social audit by dividing up the participants into groups.

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Second dayHalf day

11. Continue a mock social audit.

Half day

12. Make preparations for participating in a social audit.

a.Get acquainted, in detail, with the scheme to be audited and with the Right to

Information Act 2005.

b. Make sure that all the forms and documents are in simple, easily understandable,

language and structure and available in local languages.

c.Prepare/have prepared charts and boards with all the relevant information.

Third dayFirst half

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13. Participate in a genuine social audit exercise – go out into the community and:

a.Make people aware of their rights, entitlements and obligations under the

scheme/programme being audited.

b. Specifically, make them aware of their right to participate in the ongoing process of

social audit.

Third and fourth daysOne and a half days

14. Get involved in the conduct of a social audit (along with the PRI or the government

department responsible), specifically:

a.Ensure that all relevant information is publicly displayed on boards and through

posters and is also read out at appropriate times for the convenience of the people,

especially those who cannot read.

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b. Ensure that the decision making process, especially for those decisions that are

critical and/or vulnerable to distortions, is transparent and open and carried out, as far

as possible, in the presence of the affected persons.

c.Make certain that all decisions, along with reasons, as appropriate, are also

communicated as soon as they are made to the affected people, and in manner that

makes it easy for them to comprehend.

d. Where there is a need for measuring, inspection or certification, ensure that

randomly selected individuals, from among the affected persons, are involved on a

rotational basis.

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e.Ensure that members of the public and especially those directly affected, are

facilitated to inspect and verify records, inspect works and generally monitor planning

and implementation.

Fifth day

15. Prepare for the conduct of a public hearing (a jan audit manch).

a.Compile all the relevant information and reduce it to easily understandable formats.

b. Inform all the community members about the time and location of the jan audit

manch.

c.Prepare the posters and banners required for the jan audit manch.

d. Identify the key speakers and draw up a programme.

e.Allocate responsibilities.

f. Go over, in detail, the process and method of conducting a jan audit manch.

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Sixth day

16. Participate in the conduct of the jan audit manch.

Seventh day

17. Debriefing session. Revisit the theory of social audits and have a detailed discussion to

address the questions that the participants might have.

18. Valedictory and farewell

Annexure - IPreparatory Check List for Mass Social Audit

1 st Phase

1. Commitment from Local Group

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In Dungarpur Commitment of People was taken in a Sammelan on the 3rd in Feb 06. That the local organizations would mobilize 400 people to walk the whole district with the Padyatra. Their commitment was to :

i. Time -10 Days.ii. Without remuneration – local Volunteers.iii. 10 person for group + organisers local 400 per district (approximately)iv. Matched by equal number from outside- both to get trained and ontribute

2. Talked to the Administration-Collector Dungarpur. The Administration gave a commitment to provide

i) Photocopies of who completed (EGA).ii) Photocopies of on going works. Panchayat / Department wise with specification of labour/ work , with copies of the various sanctions.iii) Fulfill Obligations for transparency

3. Map of the District

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Divided no of Panchayats, by no of teams. This gave us the estimated number of days required for the Padyatra @ 1 day per panchayat.

2 nd Phase

Once Commitment on all the above were made by the administration: the Coordination team was set up with members from different organizations. A Working group was also set up.

Three sets of meetings / trainings were organised

1. 1 day play meeting with core tam in Devdungri was held in late February. This meeting was to facilitate requirements (Physical) budget, strategies, categories required to be trained Drama training.

2. Training of Trainers1. Specialist in oratory2. Filling of social audit forms / questionnaires

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3. Communication.4. Local leaders.5. Women’s Issues. 6 Familiarity with RTI and social audit

processes .

Collector Dungarpur was invited to attend this meeting and give the district perspective so that the commitments were renewed by the District Administration . It also facilitated the people to table genuine problems before the collector to start a dialogue to enable the implementation of the NREGA.

3. The Budget that was approved was circulated with an appeal letter drafted for the purpose and receipt books printed were distributed for collection .

4. Invitations asking for dates , and for numbers of days people were willing to commit themselves.

5. Material Preparation list

i. 3 bannners to a team (content of banners accepted democratically at the trainers training )

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ii. History of NREGA – to settle claims and counter claimsiii. Social Audit format.iv. Check list ( very long for what need to be done reg—eah group appended) .. …v. ipkZ on Why Social Audit.vi. NREGA in India– full information…………vii. ipkZ for general invitation, local.viii. Flags , placards.ix. Mobile mike one per team.x. Dholak + local instruments.xi. Donation boxes (1 to a team).xii. Receipt books.xiii. ipkZ one on RTI, one on NREGA.xiv. Copies of RTI & NREGA Acts for sale.xv. Application form.

1. RTI 2. for jobs in NREGA works

xvi. Bags with slogans.xvii. Badges.xviii. Background press format one in English- one in local lang. for filing daily .

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xix. Guide lines NREGAxx. Banners for Sammelan ‘s in District HQ.

7 Venue for initial 2 day mass exposure to NREGA Rules.

8 accommodation required for outside participants

9 food during 2 day mass exposure + 1 day convention , concluding session plus donation from local citizenry.

10 videography

11 registration forms plus fees

12 BSR measurement chart with norms

13 Coordination Office , its requirements two computers printer

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fax machine telephones other office equipment that may be needed

14. Vehicles required, people allowed use of vehicle, in some cases Campaign paid for the diesel and in others the organization bore the expenses. There was one vehicle per block, one for the coordinarion office and trucks were organiswed to drop people at their pad yatra points from where the yatras were about to begin.

15 The Administration established its own Control Room s at the District, Block levels from where they dealt with arrangements as well as attended to complaints and grievances and addressed them on a priority basis.

16 Designed special forms for survey

17 At the Block level there were

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emergency phone numbers given to each team jeeps and other vehicles were organized by organizations in the area to fetch sick people

and to gather the daily press notes and reports

18 The Administration took responsibility for

transparency provisions , including fulfillment of all obligations under the NREGA boards at work sites and wherever else necessary instructions to the sarpanch to be present in the panchayat area the gram sewak to be present with all staff at the time of the visit of the padyatra facilitate all imformation access

Mistakes and learning Should have had1. Cycle teams in each block to support the padyatris also to bring press notes and other information and a report on whether some specific important provisions were fulfilled or not.2. Block level Sub coordination units. 3. Researchers and trainers for filing in survey forms needed at least a full days orientation and intensive training , ours was inadequate

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GROUPS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Group Coordinator / Standby was to be a responsible person, either local or outsider, confident about the area and NREGA background, with ability to converse in the local language.

2. One / two responsible for for preperation of the daily press note3. One / two responsible for filing social audit forms ( fully conversant and prior trained )4. communicators- with one coordinator

oration plays slogans singing special songs talking to people

5. mike incharge

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6. meeting co-ordinator with an easy facility with the mike7. daily reporting for the document to be produced on the pad yatra- stories, factual data

other than those in the forms, problems people face, touching incidents, happenings et all.8. Petitions and complaints to be written – 1 or 2 local people to take responsibility .9. One person to sell materials10. One to collect donation11. One to maintain accounts12. One to distribute pamphlets13. organize wall painting of slogans14. One to administer medical first aid from kit provided15. to maintain emergency rations etc

Every Yatri should have

1. Torch2. Water Bottle3. Lota4. Sheet5. Mosquito repellant ( if required)

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NON NEGOTIABLES

1. To eat one per household2. Eat whatever is given by the family, normal every day food3. No liquor to be consumed while on the yatra4. No untouchability or discrimination on the basis of caste gender or religion will be

condoned.5. Sleep in a common place - school building etc -all yatris together.6. Daily review meeting7. No special privileges to anyone.8. No special favours from the Sarpanch or any official or public representative who is

connected with the implementation of the programme.

C. DRAFT SOCIAL AUDIT (TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY) RULES

Registration for Job Card

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1. A special Gram Sabha shall be convened at the commencement of the NREGA in a District. The purpose of the Gram Sabha shall be to explain the provisions of the Act, and mobilize applications for registration. A door-to-door survey to identify households shall precede this special Gram Sabha. Registration forms shall be made available at the Gram Sabha and registration will begin on the spot.

2. At the conclusion of the Gram Sabha details of households registered till then shall be read out.

3. A list of registered households shall be maintained and kept open for inspection at the Gram Panchayat office. The list shall be updated every three months.

4. Registration shall remain open through out the year at the Gram Panchayat office.5. The application for registration must be accepted at the Gram Panchayat. Photocopies

of the form shall also be accepted. 6. An individual may appear personally and make an oral request for registration. The

Gram Panchayat Secretary shall extend reasonable assistance to the applicant in filling out the form.

7. A dated and signed receipt shall be provided to the applicant at the time of receiving the application.

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Application for Work and Work Allotment

8. Job Card holders may apply for work in person or by post to the Gram Panchayat or the Programme Officer.

9. A dated and signed receipt shall be provided to the applicant at the time of receiving the application.

10. An application for work can be made on the prescribed form (Form A-2) and can also be submitted on plain paper. A single application may be given for different periods during the year. The application must contain the following particulars:

a.Name of the applicantb. Job Card numberc.Number of days of work soughtd. When the applicant would like to commence work.e.Date of application

11. Failure to accept an application and to issue a dated receipt shall be considered a contravention of the Act and action shall be initiated under section 23 and 25 of the act.

12. Complaints for such failure will be made to the Program Officer. Such complaints shall

be disposed of within seven days of receipt under section 23 (6) of the Act.

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13. All applications for work shall be entered in the Application Register to be maintained at the Gram Panchayat office. This register shall be open to public for inspection.

14. Copies of all work orders shall be put on display at Gram Panchayat notice board(s) at the time of commencement of the work.

15. An Employment Register, updated from the Muster Rolls as per the prescribed format shall be available at the Gram Panchayat and kept open for public inspection.

16. A specific day shall be fixed to disseminate information about the NREGA every month. This day may be called 'Rozgar divas'. The following activities shall be carried out on Rozgar Divas:

a.During the Rozgar Divas meeting the names and other details of all those who have been registered, or given Job Cards, or allotted work, or paid wages, or given unemployment allowance, during the month, shall be read out and also publicly displayed. (See Format- B-3)

b. The meetings shall also be used to explain the details of the scheme including the entitlements and obligations, the norms and procedures.

c.The Rozgar Divas may also be used by any person to seek any information, or scrutinize any documents, or raise any issue, or lodge any complaint, regarding any aspect of the functioning of the NREGA in the Gram Panchayat.

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Peoples Participation in Planning

17. The Programme Officer shall ensure that the Gram Panchayat prepares a shelf of possible works to be taken up within the Gram Panchayat, with works listed in order of priority as agreed in the Gram Sabha. The prioritized list must also be displayed at the Gram Panchayat office.

18. The technical estimates/work sanctions shall be summarized and estimated quantum of material required will be indicated in local language and units for supply of material (prescribed Format C-1).

19. Prior to commencement of work, common language estimates of the technical estimates/work sanctions shall be displayed on the work site board (Format C-2).

Muster Rolls

1. The Programme Officer shall be responsible for issuing uniquely numbered muster rolls (Format D-1) to the implementing agencies.

2. The names of all workers assigned to a worksite shall be recorded on the muster roll by the worksite supervisor (mate) on the day the workers report for work.

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3. Daily attendance of the workers will be recorded on the said muster rolls.4. Once completed the muster rolls will be placed in the Work File and kept available for

public inspection at the office of the implementing agency.5. All workers shall bring their Job Cards (format E-1) when they report for work. The

worksite supervisor (mate) shall make an entry in the Job Card on the first and last day of the work period, indicating the dates of the first and last day of work respectively, and the total number of days worked during that period.

6. At the end of the work period, the supervisor (mate) shall update the Consolidation Sheet (format D-2).

Participation in Supervision and Measurement of Works

20. Every Work Site Supervisor (Mate) shall maintain a Work Site File containing the following:

a.Muster Roll (Format D1)b. Muster Roll Consolidation Sheet (Format D2)c.Stock Register (Format D3)

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d. Summary of measurements taken while work is in progress (Format D4)e.Copy of Technical Estimates (Format D5)f. Copy of Work Sanctions (Technical, Financial and Administrative Sanctions) (Format

D6)g. Copy of the Work Order h. Vigilance Committee Inspection Reports (format D7)

21. Work Site File shall be open for inspection. Work Site File shall be kept at the work site during working hours. The Gram Panchayat Secretary will be responsible for ensuring that the Work Site File is properly maintained by the Work Site Supervisor (Mate).

22. Sample of materials can be taken from the worksite of an ongoing work or completed work on submission of application. The applicant shall receive the sample at a pre-designated time in her or his presence. It shall be sealed and certified by an official designated by the Assistant Engineer of the concerned department.

Disbursement of Full Wages on Time

23. Wage Payments shall be made by an agency independent of the implementing agency. The official disbursing the money shall sign on the Pay Order/Muster Roll that the

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payments were made in her/his presence. The Pay Order shall be read out before payment and displayed at Gram Panchayat on completion of payment. Payment should be publicly made to all workers at a public place. Payment details shall also be recorded by the disbursing officer in the workers’ Job Cards at the time of making payments.

24. Disclosure of piece rate measurement shall be made individually and not en masse so as to provide each worker with his/her due exactly.

Accountability in Disposal of Complaints

25. Complaints relating to violations of the NREGA or associated Guidelines and Rules by the Gram Panchayat shall be lodged in writing with the Programme Officer who shall be an officer not below the rank of the block development officer holding independent charge. In cases where complaints are related to any authority other than the Gram Panchayat, the complaints shall be lodged with the District Programme Coordinator. Complaints received by the Programme Officer or District Programme Coordinator shall be entered in the Complaints Register (Format XYZ).

26. Irrespective of the authority with whom the complaints are lodged, the official concerned (Programme Officer or District Programme Coordinator) shall dispose of the matter in seven days as prescribed under section 23(6) of the Act.

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27. Any reported contravention of Social Audit (Transparency and Accountability) Rules shall be deemed to be a complaint in terms of section 23(6) and be disposed of within seven days of receipt by the Programme Officer and/or District Programme Coordinator. Appeals by the complainants against these orders will lie with the Divisional Commissioner.

28. Failure to dispose of a complaint in seven days will be considered to be a contravention of the Act on the part of the concerned officer, punishable under section 25. Appeals against such failure will be lodged with the Divisional Commissioner or the Employment Guarantee Commissioner as decided by the State Government (Format XYZ).

29. In the event where a contravention of the Act, Guidelines or Rules comes to the attention of the Programme Officer or District Programme Coordinator, based on a complaint or otherwise, the Programme Officer or District Programme Coordinator shall recommend a fine to be levied against the concerned official by the Divisional Commissioner/State Employment Guarantee Commissioner under Section 25 of the NREGA.

30. The Divisional Commissioner/State Employment Guarantee Commissioner shall be responsible for disposing of appeals made by complainants and ‘references’ made by the Programme Officers or District Programme Coordinators.

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31. Based on a ‘reference’ the Divisional Commissioner/State Employment Guarantee Commissioner shall issue a charge sheet and give an opportunity for a hearing to the official concerned. All references shall be disposed off within one month.

32. While disposing off an appeal the the Divisional Commisioner/ State Employment Guarantee Commisioner shall give an opportunity to be heard to both the complainant and the official against whom the complaint is being made. All appeals shall be disposed off within one month.

33. While disposing off any ‘references’ or appeals the Divisional Commisioner/ State Employment Guarantee Commisioner shall convict any official found guilty of contravention of the Act under section 25 of the NREGA, and impose a fine which may extend to Rs. 1,000. All fines shall be deducted from the officials salary.

Rules for Social Audit Forum

34. Every Gram Panchayat shall organize a Social Audit Forum (hereinafter forum) at least once every six months as prescribed under section 17 (2) of the Act.

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35. This forum shall serve as a platform for members of the Gram Sabha to review and verify financial expenditure, examine the provisions of entitlements, discuss the priorities reflected in choices made and evaluate the quality of works and services, record social audit objections, pass resolutions and take up any mater related to the implementation of the NREGA.

Announcement of Social Audit Forum

36. The date, time, agenda of the Forum shall be widely publicized so as to ensure maximum participation. . The Program Officer shall ensure that the Gram Panchayat:

a.Provide a month's advance notice of the date of the Forum, and maintain an annual schedule in terms of the months in which these are to be held.

b. Use both traditional modes of publicity (such as informing people through the beating of drums) as well as modern means of communication (such as announcements on microphones) to publicize date and time of the Forum.

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c.Circulate announcements of the date, time, and agenda of the forum through notices on notice boards, through newspapers and pamphlets, etc.

Preparation of Documents

37. The Gram Panchayat Secretary shall be responsible for providing the consolidation of Muster Rolls and Bills, which must be prepared in advance for presentation at the Social Audit Forum. These consolidation sheets shall be displayed at the Gram Panchayat office during the preceding 15 days and at the Forum.

38. The GP Secretary shall be responsible for preparing a 'checklist report' as per the checklist contained in the NREGA guidelines (Social Audit Forum: Mandatory Agenda). The report must address all the questions in this checklist as per the prescribed format. This report shall be displayed in the Gram Panchayat office fifteen days in advance along with other documents. (Format E-1)

39. All the relevant documents, including complete files of the works or copies of them, the annual audit report, and any registers, inspection reports, orders, or correspondence shall be made available for inspection at the Gram Panchayat office at least 15 days in advance of the Forum.

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40. There shall be free and easy access to these documents for all residents of the Gram Panchayat during this period. Copies of the documents should be provided at cost price, on demand, within one week of the request being made.

41. The files containing records in original shall be made available on the day of the Social Audit for verification during the forum.

42. The works/programmes to be taken up for audit should be listed in advance, and the list should be put up on the notice boards, along with the other items on the agenda.

Procedural Aspects

43. The timing of the Forum shall be convenient for people (both men and women) to attend.

44. The quorum of the Forum must be the same as for all Gram Sabhas, with the quorum being applied separately to all relevant categories (e.g. women, SC, ST and OBCs).

45. Lack of a quorum shall not be taken as a reason for not recording queries and complaints; social audit objections shall be recorded at any time during the Forum.

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46. The Social Audit forum shall be chaired by an official from outside the Panchayat; its Secretary must also be an individual from outside the Gram Panchayat. The District Program coordinator shall be responsible for designating such officials as chairpersons and secretaries of the forum.

47. Works to be taken up for social audit shall be examined one at a time and the consolidated sheet of the Muster Rolls and material shall be read aloud.

48. The person responsible for presenting the information shall not be a person involved in implementing the work. The vigilance committee members, or a schoolteacher, or village social audit volunteers for instance, could be considered for the purpose of reading aloud the information as per the required format.

49. All officials responsible for implementation of the works/programmes being taken up for social audit shall be required to be present at the Social Audit Forum to answer queries from members of the Gram Sabha. The Gram Panchayat Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that the officials are informed at least seven days in advance of the forum.

50. Decisions and resolutions shall be made by vote, but dissenting opinions must be recorded and treated as a social audit objection.

51. The secretary of the Forum shall record minutes as per the prescribed existing format, and the minutes register must be signed by all participants at the beginning and at the conclusion of the meeting (after the minutes have been written).

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52. The 'checklist report' of the Gram Panchayat Secretary must be taken up for discussion during the forum. All objections to the "check list report" must be recorded and shall be treated as a complaint under section 23 of the act. (Format)

53. During the Social Audit Forum, the Right to Information Act and social audit manuals should be publicized so that the Forum serves as an ongoing training ground for the public vigilance process.

54. ‘Mandatory Agenda’ refers to the minimum agenda of every Social Audit conducted by the Gram Sabha enumerated in the NREGA guidelines. The checklist will help in reviewing whether the norms and provisions in the Act, Rules and Guidelines are being observed.

Action taken

55. The Gram Panchayat Secretary shall be responsible for preparing a Social Audit Report after each Social Audit Forum and submitting it to the Programme Officer within one week. This Report shall contain a record of minutes of the Forum, any resolutions passed by the Forum (Social Audit Resolutions), and any objections raised (Social Audit Objections).

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56. Any objection raised at the Social Audit Forum by an individual or a group of individuals relating to failure to meet the requirements of the NREGA shall be called a 'social audit objection'.

57. All social audit objections shall be treated as a complaint under section 23 of the NREGA, and sent to the program officer for disposal within one week of receipt of the Social Audit Report.

58. Any resolution passed by the Social Audit Forum shall be called a 'Social Audit Resolution.' The quorum of the forum must be complete in order for there to be legitimate Social Audit Resolution.

59. All social audit resolutions related to corruption shall be treated as a preliminary enquiry, and the district programme coordinator shall be responsible for ensuring that a detailed enquiry is held, and that first information reports are filed where necessary.

60. The Programme Officer shall be responsible for addressing all issues contained in the resolutions and for preparing an 'action taken report' within 30 days of receipt of the Social Audit Report.

61. The ‘action taken report’ relating to the previous Social Audit Forum shall be read out at the beginning of each Social Audit Forum.

62. In addition, the State Government could designate people with technical expertise (engineers and accountants) from outside the District as special observers, to help ensure

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that information has been prepared for dissemination as per the required formats, see that the social audit forums are being held, attend selected Social Audit Forums and send their observation reports to the Employment Guarantee Commissioner of the State, and the State Employment Guarantee Council.

63. Immediately after attending such Forums, they could visit the worksites and conduct enquiries in cases where people have raised social audit objections or testified that there is corruption.

64. The reports of the Social Audit Forum, and the reports of the technical team, shall be submitted to the Programme Officer and the District Programme coordinator within a week for necessary action.

65. The gram panchayat secretary shall be responsible for submitting both the preceeding six monthly reports of the social audit forum, the related action taken reports, as well as reports of the technical teams if any, to the auditor at the time of the annual audit of the gram panchayat. The auditor shall examine these reports and take the reports into consideration while conducting the annual audit.

D. NREGA: A SUMMARY

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The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 is a law whereby any adult who is willing to do unskilled manual work at the minimum wage is entitled to being employed on public works within 15 days of applying. If work is not provided within 15 days, he/she is entitled to an unemployment allowance. The key features of the Act are spelt out below.

Salient Features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

1. Eligibility: Any person who is above the age of 18 and resides in rural areas is entitled to apply for work.

2. Entitlement: Any applicant is entitled to work within 15 days, for as many days as he/she has applied, subject to a limit of 100 days per household per year.

3. Distance: Work is to be provided within a radius of 5 kilometres of the applicant’s residence if possible, and in any case within the Block. If work is provided beyond 5 kilometres, travel allowances have to be paid.

4. Wages: Workers are entitled to the statutory minimum wage applicable to agricultural labourers in the state, unless and until the Central Government “notifies” a different wage

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rate. If the Central Government notifies, the wage rate is subject to a minimum of Rs 60/day.

5. Timely payment: Workers are to be paid weekly, or in any case not later than a fortnight. Payment of wages is to be made directly to the person concerned in the presence of independent persons of the community on pre-announced dates.

6. Unemployment allowance: If work is not provided within 15 days, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance: one third of the wage rate for the first thirty days, and one half thereafter.

7. Worksite facilities: Labourers are entitled to various facilities at the worksite such as clean drinking water, shade for periods of rest, emergency health care, and child-minding.

EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME

1. Employment Guarantee Scheme: Each state government has to put in place an “Employment Guarantee Scheme” within six months of the Act coming into force.

2. Permissible works: A list of permissible works is given in Schedule I of the Act. These are concerned mainly with water conservation, minor irrigation, land development, rural roads,

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etc. However, the Schedule also allows “any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government”.

3. Programme Officer: The Employment Guarantee Scheme is to be coordinated at the Block level by a “Programme Officer”. However, the Act allows some of his/her responsibilities to be delegated to the Gram Panchayats.

4. Implementing agencies: EGS works are to be executed by “implementing agencies”. These include, first and foremost, the Gram Panchayats (they are supposed to implement half of the EGS works), but implementing agencies may also include other Panchayati Raj Institutions, line departments such as the Public Works Department or Forest Department, and NGOs.

5. Contractors: Private contractors are banned.6. Decentralised planning: A shelf of projects is to be maintained by the Programme

Officer, based on proposals from the implementing agencies. Each Gram Panchayat is also supposed to prepare a shelf of works based on the recommendations of the Gram Sabha.

7. Transparency and accountability: The Act includes various provisions for transparency and accountability, such as regular social audits by the Gram Sabhas, mandatory disclosure of muster rolls, public accessibility of all EGS documents, regular maintenance of job cards, etc.

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OTHER PROVISIONS

1. Participation of women: Priority is to be given to women in the allocation of work, “in such a way that at least one-third of the beneficiaries shall be women”.

2. Penalties: The Act states that “whoever contravenes the provisions of this Act shall on conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees”.

3. State Council: The implementation of the Act is to be monitored by a “State Employment Guarantee Council”.

4. Cost sharing: The Central Government has to pay for labour costs and 75% of the material costs. State governments have to pay the unemployment allowance and 25% of the material costs.

5. Time frame: The Act will come into force initially in 200 districts, and is to be extended to the whole of rural India within five years.

Annexure - IIINTEGRATING SOCIAL AUDITING INTO THE

PRADHAN MANTRY GRAM SARAK YOJANA (PRIME MINISTER’S RURAL ROADS PLAN)

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A. INTRODUCTION

“The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide Connectivity, by way of an All-weather Road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout the year), to the eligible unconnected Habitations in the rural areas, in such a way that all Unconnected Habitations with a population of 1000 persons and above are covered in three years (2000-2003) and all Unconnected Habitations with a population of 500 persons and above by the end of the Tenth Plan Period (2007). In respect of the Hill States (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal) and the Desert Areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme) as well as the Tribal (Schedule V) areas, the objective would be to connect Habitations with a population of 250 persons and above.” (PMGSY Schemes and Guidelines - Website ).

With the launching of the PMGSY, the Government of India has initiated an ambitious plan to drastically increase rural connectivity across the country.

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An analysis of the functioning of the PMGSY suggests that there are various vulnerabilities which, if not adequately addressed, would not only significantly lessen the benefits of the programme but, in some cases, might even result is there being more harm than good done. It is almost impossible to effectively address these weaknesses without involving the various stakeholders in a meaningful way right from the planning stage,.

In order to ensure that such a meaningful involvement of the potential beneficiaries and other stakeholders gets institutionalised, this manual describes the various steps that need to be taken by the people and their groups and organisations to ensure transparency and accountability by the government, the Panchayati Raj institutions and other implementing agencies. The focus is on integrating people’s participation in the planning and auditing process of the PMGSY.

B. INTEGRATING SOCIAL AUDITING INTO PMGSY

The PMGSY is planned and implemented in various stages. Some of the critical milestones include:

1. The identification of the link.

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2. The alignment of the road.3. The assessment of environmental impacts.4. The assessment of social and economic impacts.5. The awarding of contracts/ giving work orders.6. The construction of the road –

a.implementing agencies. b. employment of labour.c.following of specifications.d. quality control.e.controlling of adverse environmental impacts.f. controlling adverse social impacts.g. keeping to time lines.

7. The Evaluation of the road.8. Maintenance of the road.

In order to ensure that at each stage there is a proper involvement of stakeholders, the process of social audits needs to be integrated and institutionalised in the process of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the programme to ensure full transparency and

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participation of all stakeholders. These measures, as they correspond to each specific aspect and stage, are listed below. Also listed are the potential vulnerabilities and what needs to be done in order to ensure stakeholder involvement and scrutiny.

Sn.

STAGE/MILESTONE

VULNERABILITIES TRANSPARENCY AND SOCIAL AUDIT MEASURES TO BE INITIATED BY THE

GOVERNMENT (With suggested action by the people in bold italics)

1. The identification of the link.

1. Identifying a non-eligible link.

2. Identifying a low priority link.

3. Identifying a link serving political/private rather than social objectives.

1. The process of identifying a link is required to be transparent. The process must be carried out publicly, with people of the area, specifically of the villages that have potential eligible links.

2. Before finalisation of the links in any block, a public meeting must be organised where people from all the villages in the block can participate and question the proposed

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4. According inappropriate priorities to the identified links.

identification and selection. The concerned authorities must be able to answer these questions and to record the questions/objections and the response and put them in the public domain.

The people must attend all such public meetings in large numbers and be vigilant. They must carefully observe the process to ensure that no ineligible or inappropriate links are being proposed.

Where an eligible/priority link is not being taken up, the people must always be ready to intercede and question the concerned functionaries on why these eligible/ priority links are being ignored. Where the concerned functionaries are not co-operative, the people must jointly complain to the relevant authority. 3. A prior survey has to be conducted by the

concerned department to identify and describe all the eligible links, and to prioritise them

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according to accepted criteria. This is the basis for ensuring that all the eligible links are identified and prioritised.

4. A social and environmental impact statement should be developed for at least three of the best alignments. This should be conducted in a transparent and participative manner, with the full involvement of the local people.

5. This enumeration is also supposed to help in preventing the listing of fictitious, ineligible, or inappropriate links.

The local people should fully participate in the conduct of the social and environmental impact studies. Where there is any doubt about any link, the people should insist on consulting the report of there various studies and surveys.6. Subsequent to the initial studies and survey

and listing, there must be a public reading in the block of:

Lists of all the links considered during the survey.

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Lists, along with reasons, of links rejected as ineligible or inappropriate.

Priority accorded to the various eligible links, along with the reason for the priority.

7. The final list of eligible links, in order of priority, should be finalised after complaints/objections are settled.

Again, the people must attend all such block meetings in large numbers and be vigilant. They must carefully listen to the list and details of the proposed links, as they are being read out, and be ready to raise objections if any ineligible or inappropriate links have been included, or the priorities accorded are wrong. 5. The final list must be put up for public display

at all the Gram Panchayat offices. The people must ensure that this list is put up and also that it is authentic.

2.

3.

The alignment of the road.The assessment of

1. As the land for the road has to be donated free by the villagers, the alignment could be biased towards

1. The alignment of the road must be finalised in a public meeting specifically called for the purpose. The villagers of the area, especially those who live in the proximity of the road or

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4.environmental impacts.The assessment of social and economic impacts.

the lands of the weaker sections of the village population.

2. The alignment could have other significant and adverse social impacts.

3. The alignment could be sub-optimal in terms of its utility to the villagers.

4. The alignment could be unnecessarily destructive to the environment.

5. The alignment could be unnecessarily long, expensive or difficult to maintain.

are likely to impacted by it, must be invited. There should also be a public announcement so that other concerned persons, especially non-governmental experts, could also have an opportunity to attend.

2. Copies of the social and environmental impact statements, as also the rationale for the proposed alignment, must be made available on the web and in at least one local office at least a month before the proposed meeting and along with the public notice for the meeting.

3. Copies should also be available in the local language and placed in the gram panchayat office of each of the villages that are in the locality or otherwise affected.

4. During the public meeting, the rationale for the alignment as also the findings of the social and environmental impact statements must be presented in the local language and questions relating to these or any other aspects of the link answered.

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The people must educate themselves about the details of the proposed alignment, discuss it among themselves in advance, seek independent professional help, if required, and ask the concerned functionaries to explain the reasons for the proposed alignment, as also the ways in which the social and environmental impacts will be prevented or mitigated.

5. The awarding of contracts/ giving work orders.

1. The awarding of contract to a non-eligible contractor.

2. The awarding of contract on the basis of political/other pressures..

3. The awarding of contract on the basis of illegal gratification or other illegitimate considerations.

4. Exaggerated/ inaccurate technical estimates.

5. Inclusion, in estimate, of unnecessary expenditure.

1. As soon as the contract is awarded, the details of all the bids, along with the criteria for selection and the reasons for acceptance/rejection of bids should be put on the web.

2. The work order, along with the conditions and specifications, should also be similarly posted.

3. A local language version of all these should be placed in the gram panchayat offices of each of the concerned/affected villages.

Insist that details of the bids and contracts, including details of the work order are placed in the gram panchayat office. Discuss this

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6. Excessive rates and material.

7. Unclear work order that does not make the details of the work clear/leaves scope for mis-interpretation.

among yourselves and take the help of outside experts, if required. If any discrepancies are discovered, file formal complaints and pursue them with the help of the Right to Information Act, 2005. 4. Technical estimate has to be done with the

involvement of the local people, and has to be approved by the gram sabha.

The people must participate in this exercise and ensure that the estimates are realistic, that the rates being quoted are as per local availability and that no unnecessary items of expenditure are being included.5. The format for the technical estimate must be

simple and understandable by the people.6. Similarly, the sanction and work order format

must be people friendly.7. This format must be put on public display so

that people can access this information and understand the details of the work.

The people need to remain vigilant and check

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the final estimate and work order to ensure that they are in accordance with what was collectively decided.

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6. The construction of the road.i. Impleme

nting agencies.

ii. Employment of labour.

iii. Following of

1. Sub-contracting by the contractor to ineligible/inappropriate contractors.

2. Non-payment of minimum wages/late payment of wages/non-payment of wages.

3. Non-provision of required facilities to the labour.

4. Employment of child labour.

5. Not following physical specifications.

6. Not following quality standards, in materials or in workmanship/ process.

7. Not following environmental safeguards,

1. The details of the authorised contractor and any authorised sub-contractors must be prominently displayed, in the local language, at the work site and in the Gram Panchayat Office of the concerned/affected villages. This should include photographs along with the name of the main functionaries (mate, overseer, JE, foreman, machine operator, etc.). Whenevr there is any change in staff, this display will be updated within the week.

2. The muster rolls/salary accounts of the workers must be available at the work site for inspection by the public, during working hours.

3. A board with details, in local language, of work – estimates and running costs – material, labour and funds, will be put up at every site, and updated regularly. The format will be user friendly.

4. Every week five randomly selected workers will

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specifications.

iv. Quality control.

v. Controlling of adverse environmental impacts.

especially in excavating fill material, dumping overburden and waste, use of water, destruction of vegetation, use of biomass for fuel, air, noise and water pollution, work related health hazards.

8. Blockage of access/passage.

9. Adverse impacts on agricultural fields/ grazing lands.

10.Threat to safety, especially of children and women.

11.Impact of influx of outsiders, especially in remote regions.

12.Avoidable delay due to diversion/insufficiency of labour/ machines/ capital etc.

have to verify and certify all of bills/vouchers of their work site, before they are passed. The people must ensure that the five workers selected are all reliable and independent of the authorities. These five workers must verify all the documents after carefully checking them.

5. A daily materials-register must be kept, and verified by five randomly selected workers every day.

The people must ensure that the five workers selected are all reliable and independent of the authorities. These five workers must verify the daily materials register after carefully checking the relevant facts.4. The daily/individual measurement records for

each work and worker must be available for public inspection.This will only be an effective check if people regularly inspect these records and ensure that they are accurate.

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vi. Controlling adverse social impacts.

vii. keeping to time lines.

5. A list of the facilities required by law to be provided to the workers on site and off site, must also be put up, in local language, at the work site and in each gram panchayat office in the area. The public will have a right to inspect these facilities when they are supposed to be operative, and the contractor/concerned agency will facilitate this.

6. The public will also have a right to observe and interview the labour working on the project to determine that they are being properly treated and paid, and that there is no discrimination and no employment of child labour.

7. As already mentioned, copies, in local language, of the work order, along with a list of conditions and specifications, including environmental and social conditions, will be kept in each of the concerned gram panchayat offices. In addition, these documents will also be available at the work site so that the public can examine them and also inspect the measures being taken to meet with the

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specifications and conditions. The contractor/ concerned authorities will facilitate this.

8. Any member of the public can ask for a sample of the material being used, or proposed to be used, and such a sample will have to be provided as specified in the right to information act, 2005.

9. At each work site a table will be displayed in the local language showing the time schedule for various phases of the work, the current progress, and reasons for shortfalls, if any. This must be updated weekly.

10.A similar table specifying the workforce (category wise) and equipment that is required and that is currently in position will also be displayed, and reasons given for variations, if any. This will also be updated weekly.

The people must insist that each of these measures is implemented. They must also form their own vigilance committees in the village and take turns too inspect the work site, examine the displays and documents, and

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talk to the workers, to ensure that everything is in order. They should participate fully and actively in the process and ensure that the final road link is according to specifications, with strict quality control, with a minimum of adverse social and environmental impacts, and where the labour has been treated well.

7. The Evaluation of the road

1. Taking and/or recording of improper measurements

2. Not consolidating the information regarding the works in one place.

3. Issuing of false completion certificates

4. Works not conforming to specifications/ standards.

5. Data recorded in a confusing/ Incomprehensible manner.

1. Verification of works, for conformity with work order in terms of specifications and quality, will be carried out by the concerned Ward/Gram Sabhas.

The people must participate in the verification and assessment exercise, and ensure that the work done conforms to what was commissioned and is of use to the people.2. Completion data will be made public in a

people friendly format. 3. At the completion of a road link, a

comprehensive public hearing will be held within one month, relating to work at a convenient public place, perhaps in the largest concerned village. Wherever possible, audio-

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visual records of the public hearing will be maintained. The details of how to organise a people’s audit meeting is laid down in the handbook on people’s audit. This peoples audit meeting (Jan Audit Manch) is perhaps the most important element of the social audit and people must participate fully in this and raise issues, without fear or favour, in order to ensure that the PMGSY link has been properly implemented.

8. Maintenance of the road

1. Road has fallen into disrepair and cannot be used.

2. Road has become dangerous due to poor maintenance.

3. The road is having an adverse impact on the surrounding environment because of poor

1. The agencies responsible for maintenance must provide to all the concerned gram panchayats details of their maintenance schedule, in the local language. This must be updated every three months with details of work actually done/activities actually undertaken.

2. Once a year a public meeting would be held in each block to discuss the state of maintenance of the PMGSY roads.

3. The concerned villagers would be invited for

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maintenance.4. The life of the road has

been severely curtailed because of poor maintenance.

this meeting, with at least a month’s notice.4. The concerned agency should carry out a

survey of the state of the PMGSY roads in that block, in consultation with the local people, and present the findings in the public meeting.

5. People should be encouraged to share their perceptions both of the state of the road and the performance of the agency given the charge of maintaining the road.

6. Where contractors/agencies are found wanting, they should be penalised and even blacklisted, where appropriate.

The people must gather evidence regarding the maintenance activities on the road, including a record of the work being done by the maintenance agencies.

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THE PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJNA (PMGSY):A SUMMARY

Introduction

Rural Road Connectivity is not only a key component of Rural Development by promoting access to economic and social services and thereby generating increased agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities in India, it is also as a result, a key ingredient in ensuring sustainable poverty reduction. Notwithstanding the efforts made, over the years, at the State and Central levels, through different Programmes, about 40% of the Habitations in the country are still not connected by All-weather roads. It is well known that even where connectivity has been provided, the roads constructed are of such quality (due to poor construction or maintenance) that they cannot always be categorised as All-weather roads.

With a view to redressing the situation, Government have launched the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana on 25th December, 2000 to provide all-weather access to unconnected habitations. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme. 50% of the Cess on High Speed Diesel (HSD) is earmarked for this Programme.

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Programme Objectives

The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide Connectivity, by way of an All-weather Road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout the year), to the eligible unconnected Habitations in the rural areas, in such a way that all Unconnected Habitations with a population of 1000 persons and above are covered in three years (2000-2003) and all Unconnected Habitations with a population of 500 persons and above by the end of the Tenth Plan Period (2007). In respect of the Hill States (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal) and the Desert Areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme) as well as the Tribal (Schedule V) areas, the objective would be to connect Habitations with a population of 250 persons and above.

The PMGSY will permit the Upgradation (to prescribed standards) of the existing roads in those Districts where all the eligible Habitations of the designated population size have been provided all-weather road connectivity. However, it must be noted that Upgradation is not central to the Programme and cannot exceed 20% of the State’s allocation as long as eligible Unconnected Habitations in the State still exist. In Upgradation works, priority should be given to Through Routes of the Rural Core Network, which carry more traffic.

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Guiding Principles of PMGSY and Definitions

The spirit and the objective of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected Habitations. A habitation which was earlier provided all-weather connectivity would not be eligible even if the present condition of the road is bad.

The unit for this Programme is a Habitation and not a Revenue village or a Panchayat. A Habitation is a cluster of population, living in an area, the location of which does not change over time. Desam, Dhanis, Tolas, Majras, Hamlets etc. are commonly used terminology to describe the Habitations.

An Unconnected Habitation is one with a population of designated size located at a distance of at least 500 metres or more (1.5 km of path distance in case of Hills) from an All-weather road or a connected Habitation.

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There is a reference above to Population size of Habitations. The population, as recorded in the Census 2001, shall be the basis for determining the population size of the Habitation. The population of all Habitations within a radius of 500 metres (1.5 km. of path distance in case of Hills) may be clubbed together for the purpose of determining the population size. This cluster approach would enable provision of connectivity to a larger number of Habitations, particularly in the Hill / mountainous areas.

The eligible Unconnected Habitations are to be connected to nearby Habitations already connected by an All-weather road or to another existing All-weather road so that services (educational, health, marketing facilities etc.), which are not available in the unconnected Habitation, become available to the residents.

A Core Network is that minimal Network of roads (routes) that is essential to provide Basic access to essential social and economic services to all eligible habitations in the selected areas through at least a single all-weather road connectivity.

A Core Network comprises of Through Routes and Link Routes. Through routes are the ones which collect traffic from several link roads or a long chain of Habitations and lead it to Marketing centres either directly or through the higher category roads i.e., the District Roads or the State or National Highway. Link Routes are the roads connecting a single Habitation or

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a group of Habitations to Through Routes or District Roads leading to Market Centres. Link routes generally have dead ends terminating on a Habitation, while Through Routes arise from the confluence of two or more Link Routes and emerge on to a major Road or to a Market Centre.

It should be ensured that each road work that is taken up under the PMGSY is part of the Core Network. While keeping the objective of Connectivity in view, preference should be given to those roads which also incidentally serve other Habitations. In other words, without compromising the basic objective (covering 1000+ Habitations first and 500+ Habitations next and 250+ Habitations where eligible, last), preference should be given to those roads which serve a larger population. For this purpose, while Habitations within a distance of 500 metres from the road is considered as connected in case of plain areas, this distance should be 1.5 km (of path length) in respect of Hills.

The PMGSY shall cover only the rural areas. Urban roads are excluded from the purview of this Programme. Even in the rural areas, PMGSY covers only the Rural Roads i.e., Roads that were formerly classified as ‘Other District Roads’ (ODR) and ‘Village Roads’ (VR). Other District Roads (ODR) are roads serving rural areas of production and providing them with outlet to market centres, taluka (tehsil) headquarters, Block headquarters or other main roads.

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Village Roads (VR) are roads connecting villages / Habitation or groups of Habitation with each other and to the nearest road of a higher category. Major District Roads, State Highways and National Highways cannot be covered under the PMGSY, even if they happen to be in rural areas. This applies to New Connectivity roads as well as Upgradation works.

The PMGSY envisages only single road Connectivity to be provided. If a Habitation is already connected by way of an All-weather road, then no new work can be taken up under the PMGSY for that habitation.

Provision of connectivity to unconnected Habitations would be termed as New Connectivity. Since the purpose of PMGSY inter alia is to provide farm to market access, new connectivity may involve ‘new construction’ where the link to the habitation is missing and additionally, if required, ‘upgradation’ where an intermediate link in its present condition cannot function as an all-weather road.

Upgradation, when permitted would typically involve building the base and surface courses of an existing road to desired technical specifications and / or improving the geometrics of the road, as required in accordance with traffic condition.

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The primary focus of the PMGSY is to provide All-weather road connectivity to the eligible unconnected Habitations. An All-weather road is one which is negotiable in all seasons of the year. This implies that the road-bed is drained effectively (by adequate cross-drainage structures such as culverts, minor bridges and causeways), but this does not necessarily imply that it should be paved or surfaced or black-topped. Interruptions to traffic as per permitted frequency and duration may be allowed.

There may be roads which are Fair-weather roads. In other words, they are fordable only during the dry season, because of lack of Cross Drainage (CD) works. Conversion of such roads to All-weather roads through provision of CD works would be treated as upgradation. It must be noted that on all the road works of the PMGSY, provision of necessary CD works is considered an essential element.

PMGSY does not permit repairs to Black-topped or Cement Roads, even if the surface condition is bad.

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The Rural Roads constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana will be in accordance with the provision of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) as given in the Rural Roads Manual (IRC:SP20:2002). In case of Hill Roads, for matters not covered by the Rural Roads Manual, provisions of Hills Roads Manual (IRC:SP:48) may apply.

Planning for Rural Roads

Proper planning is imperative to achieve the objectives of the Programme in a systematic and cost effective manner. The Manual for the Preparation of District Rural Roads Plan and the Core Network, shall be treated as part of the Guidelines and would stand amended to the extent modified by the present Guidelines. The Manual lays down the various steps in the planning process and the role of different Agencies including the Intermediate Panchayat, the District Panchayat as well as the State Level Standing Committee. In the identification of the Core Network, the priorities of elected representatives, including MPs and MLAs, are expected to be duly taken into account and given full consideration. The Rural Roads Plan and the Core Network would constitute the basis for all planning exercises under the PMGSY.

The District Rural Roads Plan would indicate the entire existing road network system in the District and also clearly identify the proposed roads for providing connectivity to

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Unconnected Habitations, in an economic and efficient manner in terms of cost and utility. The Core Network will identify the roads required to assure each eligible Habitation with a Basic Access (single all-weather road connectivity) to essential social and economic services. Accordingly, the Core Network would consist of some of the existing roads as well as all the roads proposed for new construction under the PMGSY.

In proposing the new links under the District Rural Roads Plan, it would be first necessary to indicate the weightage for various services. The District Panchayat shall be the competent authority to select the set of socio-economic / infrastructure variables best suited for the District, categorise them and accord relative weightages to them. This would be communicated to all concerned before commencing the preparation of the District Rural Roads Plan.

The Plan would first be prepared at the Block level, in accordance with the directions contained in the Manual and the priorities spelt out by the District Panchayat. In short, the existing road network would be drawn up, unconnected Habitations identified and the roads required to connect these unconnected Habitations prepared. This shall constitute the Block Level Master Plan.

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Once this exercise is completed, the Core Network for the Block is identified, by making best use of the existing and proposed road facilities in such a manner that all the eligible Habitations are assured of a Basic access. It must be ensured that every eligible Habitation is within 500 metres (1.5 km of Path length in the Hills) of a connected Habitation or an All-weather road (either existing or planned). In drawing up the proposed road links, the requirements of the people must be taken into account, through the socio-economic/infrastructure values (Road Index) suitably weighted and the alignment having the higher Road Index ought to be considered for selection.

The Block level Master Plan and the Core Network are then placed before the Intermediate Panchayat for consideration and approval of the Core Network. They are simultaneously sent, along with the list of all unconnected Habitations to the Members of Parliament and MLAs, for their comments, if any. After approval by the Intermediate Panchayat, the Plans would be placed before the District Panchayat for its approval. It will be incumbent on the District Panchayat to ensure that the suggestions given by the Members of Parliament are given full consideration within the framework of these Guidelines. Once approved by the District Panchayat, a copy of the Core Network would be sent to the State-level Agency as well as the National Rural Roads Development Agency. No road work may be proposed under the PMGSY

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for New Connectivity or Upgradation (where permitted) unless it forms part of the Core Network.

Funding and Allocation

Once the Core Network is prepared, it is possible to estimate the length of roads for New Connectivity as well as Upgradation for every District. States may, each year, distribute the State’s Allocation among the Districts giving 80% on the basis of road length required for providing connectivity to Unconnected Habitations and 20% on the basis of road length requiring Upgradation under the PMGSY. The District-wise allocation of funds would also be communicated to the Ministry / NRRDA / and STA every year by the State Government.

In making the District-wise allocation, the road lengths already taken up under the PMGSY or any other Programme may be excluded (even if the road works are still under execution). The figures of new construction length will thus keep on changing every year till such time as all Unconnected Habitations (of the eligible population size) have been covered in the District.

In addition to the allocation to the States, a special allocation of upto 5% of the annual allocation from the Rural Roads share of the Diesel Cess will be made for:

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i. Districts sharing borders with Pakistan and China (in coordination with Ministry of Home Affairs)

ii. Districts sharing borders with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal (in coordination with Ministry of Home Affairs)

iii. Left Wing Extremists areas in the Districts identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs iv. Extremely backward Districts (as identified by the Planning Commission) which can be

categorised as Special Problem Areas v. Research & Development Projects and innovations.

Quality Control and Supervision of Works

Ensuring the quality of the road works is the responsibility of the State Governments, who are implementing the Programme. To this end, all works will be effectively supervised. The NRRDA will issue general guidelines on Quality Control and prescribe a Quality Control Handbook to regulate the quality control process at works level. Quality Control Registers containing the results of tests prescribed in the Quality Control Handbook shall invariably be maintained for each of the road works. A site Quality Control Laboratory will be set up by the Contractor for each package. Payments shall not be made to the Contractor unless the

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Laboratory has been duly set up and equipped, quality control tests are regularly conducted, recorded and have been found to be successful. The Standard Bidding Document shall incorporate suitable clauses for ensuring Quality Control and a Performance Guarantee by the Contractor, which should be discharged only after consulting the Panchayati Raj Institutions responsible for maintenance.

A three-tier Quality Control mechanism is envisaged under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The State Governments would be responsible for the first two tiers of the Quality Control Structure. The PIU will be the first tier, whose primary responsibility will be to ensure that that the all the materials utilised and the workmanship conform to the prescribed specifications. As the first tier, the PIU will supervise the site quality control laboratory to be set up by the contractor. It shall also ensure that all the tests prescribed are carried out at the specified time and place by the specified person/ authority.

As the Second tier of the Quality Control structure, periodic inspections of works will be carried out by Quality Control Units, set up / engaged by the State Government, independent of the Executive Engineers / PIUs. These officers / Agencies (who may be called State Quality Monitors) would be expected to carry out regular inspections and also get samples of material used tested in laboratories of the State Government as well as, in certain cases, independent

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laboratories, say those of the State Technical Agencies. The State Governments will issue the requisite guidelines in this regard.

Each State Government will appoint a senior Engineer (not below the rank of Superintending Engineer) to function as State Quality Coordinator (SQC) at the State level. His function will be to oversee the satisfactory functioning of the Quality control mechanism within the State. This function would also involve overseeing the follow up action on the reports of the National Quality Monitors. The Quality Coordinator should be part of the SRRDA.

As the third tier of the Quality Control Structure, the NRRDA will engage Independent Monitors (Individuals / Agency) for inspection, at random, of the road works under the Programme. These persons may be designated as National Quality Monitors (NQM). It will be the responsibility of the PIU to facilitate the inspection of works by the NQM, who shall be given free access to all administrative, technical and financial records.

The National Quality Monitors shall inspect the road works with particular reference to Quality. They may take samples from the site and get them examined by any competent Technical Agency / Institution. They shall also report on the general functioning of the Quality Control mechanism in the District. The Monitors shall submit their report to the NRRDA. The

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reports of the NQMs will be sent by NRRDA to the State Quality Coordinator for appropriate action within a period to be specified. In case quality check by SQM or NQM reveals ‘unsatisfactory’ work, the PIU shall ensure that the contractor replaces the material or rectifies the workmanship (as the case may be) within the time period stipulated. In respect of NQM Reports, the SQC shall, each month, report on the action taken on each of the pending Reports. All works rated ‘unsatisfactory’ shall be re-inspected by an SQM or NQM after a rectification report has been received from the State Quality Coordinator.

Recurrent adverse reports about quality of road works in a given District / State might entail suspension of the Programme in that area till the underlying causes of defective work have been addressed.

Monitoring

Effective monitoring of the Programme being critical, the State Governments will ensure that the officials are prompt in sending the requisite reports / information to the SRRDA as well as the NRRDA. The On-line Management & Monitoring System (OMMS) will be the chief

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mechanism for monitoring the Programme. To this end, the officials are required to furnish, ‘On-line’, all the data and information, as may be prescribed by the NRRDA from time to time, in the relevant module of the On-line Management & Monitoring System. They shall be responsible for uninterrupted maintenance of the Computer Hardware and Software as well as the Internet connectivity. The Software for the OMMS shall be supplied by the NRRDA and it shall not be modified at any level in the States; any requirement or suggestion for change shall be intimated to the NRRDA.

The State Government should provide necessary manpower, space and facilities to set up the Computer Hardware at the District and State Level. Since the data would reside on the State Servers, the State level Agency must ensure that the State Server is functional all 24 hours.

It shall be the responsibility of the Executive Engineer / Head of the PIU to ensure effective up-time and Internet connectivity of the computers at the PIU / District level. He shall be responsible for ensuring placement of all Master data including the Rural Roads Plan in the database and for the constant updating and accuracy of data relating to the progress of road works, record of Quality control tests as well as the payments made. In case of continued

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failure to update data on the OMMS, further releases to the State / District concerned could be affected.

Each State Government would identify one officer of sufficient seniority and having adequate knowledge of Information Technology to function as State IT Nodal Officer. His function will be to oversee the regularity and accuracy of the data being furnished by the Districts. The IT Nodal Officer, who shall form part of the SRRDA, shall also be responsible to oversee the upkeep of the Hardware and Software as well as the computer training requirements of the personnel dealing with the PMGSY.

The District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee set up by the Ministry will also monitor the progress and exercise vigilance in respect of PMGSY.

Convergence

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Rural connectivity is not an end in itself. It is a means. It is expected that the connectivity will improve indicators of education, health, rural incomes etc., provided as a follow up, and in consultation with the local Panchayati Raj Institutions, convergence is achieved with other ongoing Programmes in these sectors. It is expected that the District Panchayat will focus on these issues. Before the start of work on Rural Roads, the bench mark development indicators may be measured and attached to the detailed project report.

The NRRDA will provide 100% assistance for independent Studies to establish the impact of the new rural connectivity in a District from time to time.

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Annexure - III

INTEGRATING SOCIAL AUDITING INTO THE ICDS

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Introduction

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme offers an integrated delivery package of early childhood services so that their synergistic effect can be taken full advantage of. The Scheme aims to improve the nutritional and health status of vulnerable groups including pre-school children, pregnant women and nursing mothers through providing a package of services including supplementary nutrition, pre-school education, immunization, health check-up, referral services and nutrition & health education. In addition, the Scheme envisages effective convergence of inter-sectoral services in the anganwadi centres.

With the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005, the people of India have finally got a facilitating law that can enable them to exercise their fundamental right to information. Through the exercise of this right they can initiate a process that could go a long way in ensuring that the various programmes and schemes of the government are properly implemented and that the intended beneficiaries receive the benefits that were meant for them.

An analysis of the ICDS reveals that there are various entitlements that the people have under this scheme. Many or most of these entitlements are vulnerable to distortions, if the stakeholders were not involved in a meaningful way right from the planning stage,.

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In order to ensure that such a meaningful involvement of the potential beneficiaries and other stakeholders gets institutionalised, this manual describes the various steps that need to be taken by the people and their groups and organisations to ensure transparency and accountability by the government, the Panchayati Raj institutions and other implementing agencies. The focus is on integrating people’s participation in the planning and auditing process of the ICDS.

Integrating Social Auditing Into ICDS

Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

1. Demarcation of area to be covered by a new anganwadi centre [Responsibility: Child

1. Dominant / politically active communities might be able influence this decision

1. Publicly display and have read out the criteria for demarcation.

2. Also, publicise how the final demarcation meets with the prescribed criteria.

3. Where there seems to be a high risk of the decision being dominated by one section of the community, have separate discussions with each segment of the community. Where feasible, have the community express its

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

Development Programme Officer]

preference by anonymously putting stones next to a pictorial depiction of options (like in participatory rural appraisal exercises).

2. Selection of the anganwadi worker

[Responsibility: CDPO]

1. Selected at aam sabha meeting, may be influenced by dominant communities

1. Publicly display and have read out the criteria for selection.

2. Also, publicise the list of applicants/potential appointees and the reasons for the final selection.

3. Organise selection by secret ballot organised by putting stones next to a pictorial depiction of candidate (like in participatory rural appraisal exercises).

3. Location of the anganwadi

[Responsibility: CDPO]

1. Location selected at aam sabha, influenced by dominant communities

2. Often not located in SC / ST hamlets due to social pressures and political influence exercised by

1. Make public explicit criteria for location.2. Within the area that qualifies, (eg. within SC/ST

hamlets), determine specific location by first identifying feasible options through open discussion – if required by separate discussion with distinct groups – and then a secret ballot, as described earlier.

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

dominant community

4. Issuance of contracts for supplies (such as toys, weighing machines etc.)

[Responsibility: Director, ICDS]

1. Influenced by contractor lobby

2. Corruption: Supplied on paper but may not reach AWC

3. Quantity supplied may be low, so material not used at all (for. E.g. in one centre there are only 6 slates and 30 children so the slates are not brought out)

4. No facility to repair items that don’t work (e.g. weighing machines)

1. All purchases through open tendering.2. List of goods purchased and corresponding list

of the anganwadis to which they are supplied, to be published in local newspapers once a year and to be put up on the web.

3. Each anganwadi to be supplied the list of equipment and material that they have officially been allocated, and the list to be made public and also read out.

4. Five randomly selected citizen’s to certify the receipt of the listed equipment and materials, once at the beginning of each year, and to certify their continued presence every three months. The certificates to be displayed outside the anganwadi and also become an essential part of the district and state accounts.

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

5. Responsibility to be fixed (and resources made available) for ensuring that the toys and other equipment and materials are kept in good repair. The three monthly checks specified above would also assess the state of repair and use of the items.

SERVICE: Supplementary Nutrition5. Establishment

of system for service delivery for supplementary nutrition programme (SNP)

[Responsibility: Director, ICDS]

1. Might be influenced by contractor lobby, even though contractors are not to be issued for the implementation of the supplementary nutrition programme as per a 7.10.2004 Supreme Court order

1. The guidelines and details of the Supreme Court order regarding delivery system to be publicly displayed and read out in a public meeting.

2. Discussion of details every six months, of the delivery system being used, with the local people.

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

6. Ensuring supply of food for SNP to the anganwadi

[Responsibility: CDPO and Supervisor]

1. CDPO or supervisor posts might be vacant leading to an absence of supervision

2. Or, individual appointed to a CDPO/ Supervisor post might have ‘additional charge’ of the anganwadi, again leading to poor supervision

3. SNP food sold in black market at various levels

1. The norms for the supply of food under the SNP would be made public and displayed prominently.

2. The stock register would also be made accessible to the public, who could examine it at will.

3. A team of five randomly selected women would be empowered to make surprise checks and verify stock register with existing stocks, and the food being distributed compared to the prescribed norms.

4. This check must be done at least once a month and the reports would be sent to supervisory officers and also displayed publicly.

7. Implementation of SNP at the anganwadi

[Responsibility:

1. Restricted number of beneficiaries catered to since limited allocations are made for supplementary nutrition programme per

1. Where there are inadequate allocations and beneficiaries have to be selected, the criteria for selection must be publicly displayed and read out.

2. The list of beneficiaries finally selected must

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

anganwadi worker (AWW)]

anganwadi. 2. Selection of beneficiaries is

politically influenced. 3. Distribution of Take Home

Rations, might be done at a time when beneficiaries cannot be present at the AWC

4. SNP food sold in black market at various levels

also be made public along with the reasons for their selection.

3. The timings for distribution of Take Home rations to be fixed in consultation with the potential beneficiaries and the timings displayed publicly. The distribution of rations at times other than those specified should be discouraged and the timings of actual distribution (as opposed to scheduled distribution) be also displayed every week.

SERVICE: Immunisation and health care services 8. Supply of

medicines to anganwadis

[Responsibility: Director, ICDS]

1. Poor coordination between Health and Social Welfare/ Women and Child Development Departments

2. Corruption in supplies3. Old stock supplied,

including medicines which

1. The norms for the supply of medicines would be made public and displayed prominently.

2. The stock register would also be made accessible to the public, who could examine it at will.

3. A team of five randomly selected women would be empowered to make surprise checks and

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

have expired4. There are supplies but not

used so future supply is stopped

verify stock register with existing stocks.4. This check must be done at least once a month

and the reports would be sent to supervisory officers and also displayed publicly.

5. A list of medicines received, the ailments that they are for and the number used would also be displayed every month and read out in the public meetings.

9. Provision of immunisation services

[Responsibility: Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM)]

1. Might not visit AWC on scheduled day

2. No supervision of ANM’s work

3. Refusal to open vaccines if a minimum number of children not present

4. ANM visits at a time when women have already gone for work

1. Scheduled time/day for immunisation must be fixed in advance and publicised.

2. Norms for immunisation activities (minimum numbers required, etc.) must also be publicised.

3. The ANM must get signatures/thumb impressions of at least five of the local women certifying the time and day she visited, and how many children she immunised. If no children were immunised, then the reasons must also be certified.

4. A copy of this certificate must be put up on the

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

notice board in the village every week and the summary be read out to the villagers, including the names of those who certified, every six months.

10. Growth Monitoring

[Responsibility: AWW]

1. Not done regularly2. Growth charts not

maintained, so there may not be effective monitoring of malnutrition levels

3. Does not cover ALL children but only those enrolled in the centre

4. Those in the 0-3 age group left out and only those children who come to the centre everyday are weighed

5. Purpose and meaning not explained to mothers

1. The responsibilities of the AWW be publicised regularly.

2. The AWW publicly state in the scheduled meeting the names of those children that were not regularly monitored, along with reasons why they were not monitored.

3. These public meetings also used to assess how well mothers understand the purpose and meaning of the various health related activities for their children. This can be done by once in six months or once a year having a quiz with some nominal prizes. The AWW whose group consistently gets low marks should be given a warning and, if there is no improvement, removed.

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

6. Weighing machines may be out of order and not fixed, so growth monitoring stops for months on end

4. Five randomly selected citizens to certify the receipt of the listed growth monitoring equipment and materials, once at the beginning of each year, and to certify their continued presence every three months. The certificates to be displayed outside the anganwadi and also become an essential part of the district and state accounts.

5. Responsibility to be fixed (and resources made available) for ensuring that the growth monitoring equipment is kept in good repair. The three monthly checks specified above would also assess the state of repair and use of the items.

SERVICE: Pre-School Education11. Conducting pre-

school activities everyday

1. Centre open for too little time – only an hour or two

2. No teaching aids3. AWW not trained on pre-

1. Scheduled time for centre to be open must be fixed in advance and publicised.

2. Norms of activities in the centre, along with the aids prescribed and sanctioned, must also be

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Sn.

Stage Vulnerabilities Steps to be taken by the government

[Responsibility: AWW]

school activities. publicised.3. The ANM must get signatures/thumb

impressions of at least five of the local women certifying the time, each day that the centre was open.

4. A summary of this certificate must be put up on the notice board in the village every week and the summary read out to the villagers every six months, including the names of those who certified.

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SALIENT FEATURES OF THE INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Introduction

As per 1991 census, India has around 150 million children, constituting 17.5% of India's population, who are below the age of 6 years. A large number of them live in economic and social environ- ment which impede the child's physical and mental development. These conditions include poverty, poor environmental sanitation, disease, infection, inadequate access to primary health care, inappropriate child caring and feeding practices. Government of India proclaimed a National Policy on Children in August 1974 declaring children as, "supremely important asset". The policy provided the required framework for assigning priority to different needs of the child. The programme of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was launched in 1975 seeking to provide an integrated package of services in a convergent manner for the holistic development of the child.

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme was conceived in 1975 with an integrated delivery package of early childhood services so that their synergistic effect can be

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taken full advantage of. The Scheme aims to improve the nutritional and health status of vulnerable groups including pre-school children, pregnant women and nursing mothers through providing a package of services including supplementary nutrition, pre-school education, immunization, health check-up, referral services and nutrition & health education. In addition, the Scheme envisages effective convergence of inter-sectoral services in the anganwadi centres.

Targetted Beneficiaries

The Scheme targets the most vulnerable groups of population including children upto 6 years of age, pregnant women and nursing mothers belonging to poorest of the poor families and living in disadvantaged areas including backward rural areas, tribal areas and urban slums. The identification of beneficiaries is done through surveying the community and identifying the families living below the poverty line.

Recipients Calories Grams of ProteinChildren upto 6 Years 300 8-10

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Adolescent Girls 500 20-25Pregnant and nursing mothers 500 20-25

Malnourished Children Double the daily supplement provided to the other children(6000 and/or special utrients on medical recommendation

Objectives

The objectives of the scheme are :-

to improve the nutritional and health status of pre-school children in the age-group of 0-6 years;

to lay the foundation of proper psychological development of the child;

to reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school drop-out;

to achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development; and

to enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.

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Package of Services:

To achieve the above objectives, the ICDS aims at providing a package of services, consisting of

Supplementary Nutrition; Immunization; Health Check-up; Referral Services; Non-formal Pre-school Education; and Nutrition & Health Education.

The programme provides an integrated approach for converging basic services through community-based Anganwadi Workers and helpers, supportive community structures/women's group -through the Anganwadi Centre, the health system and in the community. Besides this, the AW is a meeting ground where women's/mother's group can come together, with other frontline workers, to promote awareness and joint action for child development and women's empowerment.

Expansion of ICDS

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The ICDS Scheme was sanctioned during 1975-76 in just 33 blocks of the country. At present, there are 4200 Operational ICDS Projects in the Country. Approval of the Cabinet has been obtained for operationalisation of 461 new ICDS blocks under World Bank assisted ICDS III and ICDS-APER projects during the next three years. In addition to this proposal for operationalisation of 390 ICDS Projects in a phased manner during IXth Plan period under General ICDS scheme has been submitted to CCEA for approval.

Expenditure on ICDS

Alongside gradual expansion of the Scheme, there has also been a significant increase in the Central Government's spending on implementation of the Scheme. As against the expenditure of only Rs. 1190.21 crores during 17 years,i.e. 1975-76 to 1991-92, the expenditure during the five years of the 8th Plan period was Rs. 2271.28 crores representing 191% increase in during just 5 years period as compared to 17 years period. The expenditure of Rs.2271.28 crores during VIIIth Plan was against the approved VIIIth Plan outlay of Rs.1285.74 crores for ICDS. During 1999-2000, against the budgetary allocation of Rs.855.76 crores , an amount of approximately Rs. 772 crores has been released upto Sept. 1999.

Coverage

327

The number of beneficiaries under the ICDS Scheme have also significantly increased over the period. As against 1.66 crores beneficiaries uptill March 1992, there are at present 2.77 crores beneficiaries as on June 1999.

(Source: www.wcd.nic.in/childdet.htm)

 Dungarpur Social AuditPerforma (A)

Social Audit Report (Village Schedule)

Padyatra Group No………… Date: ………..

Village:………………Panchayat:……………Panchayat Samiti……………

1. Approximate number of people in the meeting: …………………….

Registration

328

2. Have people in this village registered under the NREGA.………… Y/N

3. How many people have applied but not been registered ……………...

4. How many have complained about irregularities in the registration process…………..

5. Who are the people (indicate names)

6. What action has been taken on each complaint…………….

Job Card

7. Have job cards been issued in the village. …………………….. Y/N

Which month were they issued………………………………………..

8. How many have registered, but have not received job cards…………. …

9. How many have filed complaints regarding job cards………………….………………….

10. What action has been taken on these complaints……………………..

329

Village Schedule 2Application for work

11. How many people have applied but not got work yet………………..

12. How many have applied for work and got receipts?………………….

13. If people have not given written Applications, and not received receipts, what are the

reasons

a) Application forms not available

b) Cannot write

c)Panchayat did not accept the application

d) Panchayat did not give a receipt

14. How many people applied for work who

a) Got work in 15 days.

b) Who got work after 15 days.

330

c)Who have not yet got work.

15. Has anyone applied for unemployment allowance………………name & details.

Payment

16. In how many days was payment made……………………………

17. How many people got payment after 15 days………………….

how many people got payment after 30 days………………………

18. Was some part of the wages paid as advance ………………… Y/N

If yes, at what rate…………………………..

19. Was payment at made at a public place …………………. Y/N, If not, then where was

the payment made?………...

20. Was payment made in the day ………………………… Y/N

21. At the time of payment –

Village Schedule 3

331

a) Was the Payment made on the muster roll.

b) Was the muster roll read out?

c) Was the Muster roll displayed at the time of payment.

d) Paid without the muster roll.

22. How far is the work site from the village………………………

23. Was the work identified in the Gram Sabha ……………….. Y/N

24. Is there a monitoring committee set up for the works at the village

level……………………………………

25. Do people in the village think that the work is useful ……………Y/N

26. Is there any complaint in respect of the NREGA -:

Corruption,

Irregularities

other……………………………. Give details.

332

Name of person filling the schedule Signature

DUNGARPUR SOCIAL AUDIT

Performa (B)

Social Audit Report (Work Site)

Padyatra Group No…………. Date:………….

Name of work……………. Panchayat……………

333

Panchayat Samiti……………

Agency executing the work ………….

Sanctioned Amount……………………

Muster roll numbers of the muster rolls at the work site…………….

1. No of workers on the work Site…………………..

2. Is there a Board displaying the details of the work Y / N

If yes , which of the following is displayed

a) sanctioned amount

b) amount of the work/task assigned to each worker

c) number of workers on the M.R.

d) number of workers present

e) estimated worker days

334

f) materials needed

g) material received on the day, specify date.

h) description of the sanctioned work and specifications.

3. Do workers know of the sanctioned amount and the usefulness (?) of the work

4. Is the muster roll available at the work site ?

5. Has the Monitoring Committee checked the muster roll.. Y / N

Work Site 2

6. Has the Village Monitoring Committee evaluated the quality and usefulness of the work …………………………….Y / NIf yes describe the details

7. If it is a “pucca” work, is there a Material Register maintained on the work

site………………………………………………. Y / N

8. Is attendance taken on the muster roll or in a note book/register ? specify .

335

9. Is there an Anganwadi or Creche at the work site ?

10. Is there provision for shade / water / medicines at the work site?

11.Are Job Cards of workers available at the work site ?

12.Have details of work been entered in the Job Card ?

13.Who keeps the job cards?

Questions that should be asked during discussions with workers on the Work Site

14. Was the task measured and given before work started ………… Y / N

15. If there are groups of workers per task, what is the size of the group ?

16. Is task given on an individual or group basis ?

17. Is the task measured daily and the worker informed about the quantum of measurement ?

18. Does the Junior Engineer measure the work at the end of each work period ( Pakhwada) in front of the workers ?

336

19. Is there a fixed time for workers to be present at the work site ?

20. How many times is the attendance taken in a day ……… when is it taken ?

21. Is the lift and lead taken into consideration at the time of fixing the task ?

Work Site 3

Suggestions of activities for the Padyatra Group at the work site

22. Check the muster roll, read out muster roll, how many workers are entered

on the muster roll . How many workers are present at the work site ?

23. Is the muster roll available for checking by all workers at the work site ?

24. No of women / men workers at the work site

men…………………………….women ……………………….

25. Are there any complaints of workers regarding conditions at the work site ?

337

26. Is the work being done through a Contractor ?

27. Are machine/s being used at the work site or have they been used ? If yes Please

describe for what purpose.

Name of person filling the schedule Signature

DUNGARPUR SOCIAL AUDIT

Performa (C)Social Audit Report (Panchayat Office)

Padyatra Group No…………. Date:………….

338

Panchayat…………… Panchayat Samiti……………

Name of Sarpanch…………………. Name of Panchayat Secretary………..

1. Does the Panchayat Office have a Board displaying the details of work under the

NREGA ? ……………………………………

If yes, then is the following information entered

a) Name of the work b) Sanctioned amount – labour / materials

c) Expenditure –labour / materials d) State of work – completed / incomplete

2. Is there a shelf of projects for NREGA works prepared by the Gram Sabha, including a

list of works in order of priority, available in the Panchayat Office?

a) Has this list of works been displayed ?

b) How many of the on going works sanctioned have been taken from the shelf of Projects

approved by the Gram Sabha?

339

c) In how many of these works have work orders been issued?

d) Has the order of priorities in the Shelf of Projects been followed in the issuing of work

orders?

3. How many works have started and how many labour are working on each work site ?4. Are copies of Muster rolls displayed at the Panchayat Bhavan for public scrutiny ?

…………………………….Y / N

5. Is there a Complaint Box or register available at the Panchayat Office ? …Y / N ……………..If yes then how many complaints have been received? What action has been taken on them?

6. Is the list of Job Cards issued available for public scrutiny?

Y / N ………………………………..

7. What is the method for receiving applications from

Panchayat Office 2

8. Is the Panchayat Secretary available at the Panchayat Office time every day at a fixed time every day ? …………………… Y / N

340

9. How many people are employed by the Panchayat Office to look after the NREGA ?

10. Is the process of registration and issue of Job Cards open at all time ….? …………………………………….Y / N

11. Is the Perspective Plan or the sanctioned list of works approved by the Gram Sabha ,open for public scrutiny at the Gram Panchayat ?

12. What are the suggestions of the Sarpanch, Panchayat Secretary and the Ward Panchs regarding the NREGA ?

Name of person filling the schedule Signature

Note: These formats were made for the mass social audit conducted in Dungarpur (Rajasthan) by the Rozgaar Evam Suchana Adhikar Abhiyan from 15th to 26th April 2006. They can be modified and used for a concurrent social audit- i.e. while works are going on.

341

These are not appropriate ‘post facto’ social audit formats, i.e. for works that have been completed, or for verification of muster rolls relating to earlier periods. There are three kinds of performas- one to be used in the village, one at the work site, and one at the Gram Panchayat Office.

The attempt is primarily to find out which if any of the essential requirements of the NREGA – in particular from the point of view of the workers entitlements is not being followed, so that immediate corrective action can take place.

Most of the provisions referred to in the proforma can be found in the NREGA guidelines, or in the Act. The guidelines can be accessed at the MORD website www.nrega.nic.in .

Many State Governments have also issued their own guidelines which should be looked at while preparing social audit proformas for use in each state. For instance, some states have much better use of IT provisions than others, but the efficacy of these provisions need to be checked at the field level.

The Rozgaar Evam Suchana Adhikar Abhiyan can be contacted at srabhiyan@gmail.com

342

For more information you could also contact mkssrajasthan@gmail.com

343

REPORT OF THE SOCIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED IN UDAIPUR

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359

eLVjjksy dk;Z LFky ij Fks yksxksa ds vuqlkj igyh ckj gh eLVj jksy dk;ZLFky ij vk;s gSA ysfdu 'kke 5 cts rd eLVjjksy [kkyh ns[ks x;sA esV ls dgus ij fd vki eLVjjksy Hkjsa] irk pyk fd og fy[kuk gh ugh tkurkA vU; O;fDr ds }kjk dkWih ;k jftLVj esa gktjh yh tkrh gSA

in;k=k ds pyrs gh ikuh] LokLF;] Nk;k vkfn dh lqfo/kk;ss ns[kus dks feyh cPps dk ikyuk rks dk;ZLFky ij feyk ysfdu ,d Hkh cPpk ugha FkkA 12 ls 45 :Ik;s dh nj ls gh etnwjksa] esVks] ikuh okys dks fey jgk gSA yksxks ds vuqlkj dk;ksZ ij 1 ls vf/kd txg ij tslhch e’khuksa dk mi;ksx gqvk gSA esV dks eki dh fcYdqy Hkh tkudkjh ugha gSA etnwjksa dks eki ds vuqlkj dke

ugha fn;k tkrk gS iwjs fnu esa fdruk Hkh dke etnwj }kjk fd;k tkrk gS Hkqxrku lHkh dk ,d tSlk vkrk gSA

dk;Z LFky ij vf/kdrj efgyk;s gh ns[kh xbZA dk;Z ds nkSjku lM+d o ugj dh QksVksxzkQh dh xbZA dkxt ij rks fuxjkuh lfefr xfBr gS ysfdu lfefr ds lnL;ksa dks Lo;a irk ugha fd oks fdlh

lfefr esa gSA ftlls dk;Z dh u rks fuxjkuh dh xbZ vkSj u gh xq.koRrk dh tkap gks ikbZA

360

5- lkexzh laca/kh vfu;ferrk

dk;Z dk uke % tk[ke ifj;kstuk /kfj;kon psu 0 ls Vsy rd & xzke % xksVM+k] iapk;r lfefr& /kfj;kon dksM& DH- 470

foHkkx%& ty laalk/ku foHkkx] tk[ke mij{k.k prqFkZ eqaxk.kk

eki iqfLrdk esa vafdr fooj.k %&eki iqfLrdk ØŒ 1716 ¼xksBM+k ekbuj DH- 470 ½ ds I`k"B la- 008 rFkk S ls CK esa

vafdr ek=k ds vuqlkj Jh fd’kksj dqekj Bsdsnkj }kjk 18-96 ?ku ehVj iRFkj ekg fnlEcj] 2006 esa nj 296-77 izfr ?ku ehVj dqy jkf’k :i;s 5620-76 dk iRFkj ykuk n’kkZ;k x;k gSA

dk;ZLFky ij dk;Z dj pqds yksxksa }kjk fn;s x;s oDrO;dk;Z dj pqds dkjhxjksa us crk;k fd iRFkj ckgj ls ugha exk, x;s gS rFkk iRFkj

dk;ZLFky ij gh miyC/k crk;s x;s gSA ;g c;ku dkjhxjksa us 19 Qjojh 2007 dh xzke lHkk

361

esa fn;sA bl dk;Z esa dke dj pqds dkfu;k@ uxth ] tkWc dkMZ la- 443 ds fyf[kr c;ku layXu gSA

xzke lHkk esa lR;kfirxzke lHkk esas Hkh yksxksa }kjk c;ku fn;s x;s rFkk dfu"B vfHk;ark us Hkh ckgj ls

iRFkj ugha exk;s] LohdkjkA rFkk bldh iqf"V djrs gq;s dk;ZØe vf/kdkjh us tkap dk vk’oklu xzke lHkk esa fn;kA

2-2 lkekftd vads{k.k in;k=k Vksyh }kjk fVIi.kh & yksx xzke lHkk esa ng’kr esa Fks fQj Hkh yksxksa us vius eqag [kksys vkSj lkjh

vfu;ferrk;sa ljiap o ftEesnkj vf/kdkfj;ksa us xzke lHkk esa gh LohdkjhA dgha Hkh yksx dke ds fy;s vkosnu ugha dj jgs gS] ftlls fd csjkstxkjh HkRrs dk loky

gh iSnk ugh gksrk gSA esVksa }kjk eu ethZ ls 15&15 fnu ds vkosnu Hkjs x;s ;g dk;ZLFky ij gh ny }kjk ns[kk x;kA

yksxksa ds vuqlkj Hkqxrku ds le; yksxks dks Åij dh jkf’k ugha nh xbZA

362

yksxks ads vuqlkj muls tkWc dkMZ cukus o eLVjjksy dk;ZLFky rd ykus gsrq esVks okMZ esEcjksa o lfpoksa }kjk etnwjksa ls 50ls 100 :i;s rd fy;s x;sA o eksVj lkbfdy ls eLVjjksy ykus gsrq IkzR;sd etnwj ls 2 ls 5 :i;s fy;s x;sA

5-4 lwpuk ,oa jkstxkj vf/kdkj vfHk;ku dh ekax@lq>ko

ik;s x;s RkF;ksa dh foLr`r ¼mDr vfu;ferrkvksa ds vykok Hkh vfu;ferrk;sa gksus dh laHkkouk gS bu rF;ksa ds vk/kkj ij vkSj Hkh vfu;ferrk;sa½ tkap djsa

lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku yksxks }kjk mBk;s xbZ leL;k;sa ,oa xzke lHkk esa mHkjh leL;k lacaf/kr rF;ksa dh fjiksVZ

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

xzke iapk;r& tSdM+k iapk;r lfefr& >kM+kSy

363

1- tkscdkMZ lacaf/kr

O;fDrxr laidZ ds nkSjku laidZ esa ykbZ xbZ f’kdk;rsa

Ø Ukke tkscdkMZ ls lacaf/kr f’kdk;r

fVIi.kh

1 dslj ckbZ @ fgEer flag] tkWc dkMZ ua-& 123 tsdM+k

tkWc dkMZ ugha feyk

mlds uke ij QthZ dke fn[kk;k

lk{kj gS ysfdu vaxwBs ls Hkqxrku mBk;k

2 larks"k@ ukuk th ] tkWc dkMZ

572 esa 500 :i;s gh etnwj dk izkIr gq;sA

364

ua-& 04 vkscjk

fVIi.kh& laidZ nkSjku vU; yksxksa ds Hkh Hkqxrku esa Åij ds iSlks dks dkVdj fn;k x;k gSA vr% foLr`r tkap djsA

2dke ds vkosnu ls lacaf/kr

O;fDrxr laidZ ds nkSjku yksxksa }kjk fn, x, oDrO;ksa ds vk/kkj ij lkewfgd vkosnu lfpo ,oa esV }kjk Hkj fy;s tkrs gSA dk;Z ij vkus ds ckn Jfedksa dk vkosnu Hkjk tkrk gSA vkosnu dh jlhn ugha nh tkrh gSA

3 lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku in;k=k Vksyh }kjk dk;ZLFky dh fjiksVZ

365

iapk;r eq[;ky; ls 3 fdŒehŒ dh nwjh ds vUnj gh dk;Z gq;s A dk;Z ij cksMZ Fkk ysfdu iw.kZ lwpuk;s ugh n’kkZbZ xbZA eLVjjksy dk;ZLFky ij miyC/k Fks ysfdu igyh ckj gh eLVjjksy dk;ZLFky ij ns[ks x;sA 50 Jfedkas esa 1 efgyk ikuh fiykus okyh Fkh] Nk;k dh ,ao LokLF; lqfo/kk dk;ZLFky ij

ugh FkhA ikuh fiykus okys dk Hkqxrku vU; Jfedks adh rjg fd;k tk jgk Fkk ¼40ls 45½ Lo;a esV dks eki dh tkudkjh ugha Fkh rFkk uki ls dk;Z ugh fn;k tk jgk Fkk cfYd dke

lkewfgd :i ls fn;k tk jgk FkkA dk;Z LFky ij yxHkx 70%30 ds vuqikr ls efgyk % iq:"k dke ij FksA fuxjkuh lfefr cuh gS] ysfdu yksxksa dks bldh tkudkjh ugh gSA ftlls dk;Z dh ns[k js[k

Bhd rjhds ls ugha gks ikbZ gSA

4- ny dh fVIIk.kh laiw.kZ lkekftd vads{k.k esa fudys rF;ksa ij xzke lHkk esa ljiap us fdlh rjg dk dksbZ

tckc ;k Li"Vhdj.k ugh fn;kA etnwjksa }kjk fdlh rjg dk vkosnu ugh fn;k tkrk gSA esVksa }kjk eLVjjksy vkus ds

ckn vkosnu djok;s tkrs gS rFkk bldh jlhn ugha nh tkrhA

366

5- vfHk;ku dh ekaxmDr rF;ksa ds vk/kkj ij gh vU; yksxksa dh foLr`r tkap gksA

6 lq>ko xkao ds yksxksa dks bl ;kstuk ds ckjs esa tu izfrfuf/k;ksa dks crkuk pkfg;sA ftlls

yksxksa dks izfØ;k ds ckjs esa irk py lds vkSj fu;ec) rjhds ls ;kstuk fØ;kfUor gks ldsA

esV ds :Ik esa i<+h fy[kh efgykvksa dks Hkh yxkuk pkfg;sA

367

xzke iapk;r& u;kokl iapk;r lfefr&dksVM+k&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

1- lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku in;k=k Vksyh }kjk dk;ZLFky dh fjiksVZ

dk;ksaZ dk p;u vko’;drk vkSj izkFkfedrk ds vk/kkj ij ughs gqvkA dk;Z 5 fdŒehŒ dh nwjh ds vanj gh gks jgk Fkk] dk;Z LFky ij eLVjjksy miyC/k ik;s x;s ysfdu etnwjksa ds vuqlkj ;g igyh ckj vk;s gS

ysfdu muesa uke ntZ ugha fd;s x;s FksA ihusa dk ikuh@Nk;k ,oe~ LokLF; lqfo/kkvks dh O;oLFkk FkhA 5 ls 7 cPPksa gj lkbZM ij Fks ysfdu dsz'k O;oLFkk ugha gSaA 1&1 ikyuk dk;ZLFky ij ns[kk x;kA

esV dks eki dh tkudkjh ugh gS u gh etnwjksa dks dke eki dj fn;k tk jgk gSA lkewfgd :i ls etnwj dke dj jgs gSA

dk;Z ij yxs efgyk iq:"k dk vuqikr yxHkx 60%40 dk gSA dk;Z ls iwoZ vFkok ckn esa QksVksxzkQh ugha gqbZA

368

fuxjkuh lfefr dkxt esa cuh gSa fuxjkuh lfefr }kjk dHkh dk;Z ugha ns[kk x;kA

2- eLVjjksy esa ntZ jkf'k ls de Hkqxrku

xkao i[kokM+k vof/k

Jfed la[;k

izfr Jfed de Hkqxrku feyk

de Hkqxrku dqy jkf'k

osjk@dkrjk

16&30 vizsy 06

100 80 :i;s 8000 :i;s

ekrk?kkVh ls gouh Qyk lM+d dk;Z ij mDr i[kokM+s esa lHkh etnwjksa ds eLVjjksy esa 480 :- ntZ gSA tcfd okLro esa mUgsa 400 :- dk gh Hkqxrku fd;k x;kA ftldh tkap dh tk;sA

369

3- tkWc dkMZ ij QksVks yxkus dh jkf'k olwyh xbZ xkao ckxksrk esa okMZ iap ds ifr rstkjke us izfr tkWc dkMZ nks :i;s ¼200X2) ds fglkc ls 400 :- fy;s x;sA

4- dke ds vkosnu izi= dh jkf'k olwyh x;h

xkao ckxksrk esa esVksa }kjk vkosnu izi= ds nks :i;s izfr ¼100X2) ds fglkc ls 200 :- fy;s x;sA

5- dk;Z ugha fd;k x;k ijUrq Hkqxrku mBk;k x;k] etnwjks dks iSlk ugha feyk

dza-la-

uke tkWc dkMZ

eLVjjksy la[;k

i[kokM+k

dk;Z fn

jkf'k

370

la[;k

ol

1 bUnzk @/kekZ

90525&3

1&15 tqykbZ 06

13

520

2 Hkh[kyh@ghjkyky

54 90524&

1&15 tqykbZ 06

13

520

3 lsnuk@ukfu;k

85295&

1&15 twu 06

9-5

320

4 g.kxaw@ckcw

386 86847&

3 ls 15 twu 06

10

400

5 uktwjh@vtk

294 16&30 twu 06

13

520

371

fVIi.kh& yksxksa ds vuqlkj buds vykok vkSj Hkh vU; etnwj gS ftuds uke ij QthZ Hkqxrku mBk;k x;k gSA

6- ,d O;fDr dk ,d gh fnukad esa nks dk;Z LFkkuksa ij n'kkZuk

dza-la-

uke tkWc dkMZ la[;k

eLVjjksy la[;k

i[kokM+k

dk;Z fnol

jkf'k

372

1 tekyk@/kekZ

23980545@10

1&15 tqykbZ 06

13 500

2 tekyk@/kekZ

239 90545@10

1&15 tqykbZ 06

13 520

uksV %& mDr O;fDRk dk nks dk;ksZa gM+er ls xqtfu;k lM+d rFkk ihiyh ls xqtfu;k

lM+d dk;Z ij ,d gh fnukad esa n'kkZ dj mDr jkf'k mBk;h x;hA

7- lkekftd vads{k.k in;k=k Vksyh }kjk fVIi.kh & vkosnu laca/kh o tkWc dkMZ laca/kh tkudkjh yksxksa dks ugha gS ftlls

esVks }kjk euethZ dk dke fd;k tk jgk gS vkSj vusd izdkj dh vfu;ferrk;s gks jgh gSA tSls & tkWc dkMZ esa dkaV&NkaV] bUVªh eLVjjksy ls feyku u gksuk] vkSj

373

tks jkf’k ;k dk;Zfnol tkWc dkMZ esa ;k eLVjjksy esa ntZ gS mruh jkf’k etnwj dks u feyuk vkfnA

in;k=k ds nkSjku gh dkQh gn rd dk;ZLFky ij lqfo/kk;s] eLVjjksy vkfn phts ns[kus dks feyh vU;Fkk etnwjksa ds vuqlkj bl izdkj ls dHkh ugha gqvkA

8- lwpuk ,oa jkstxkj vf/kdkj vfHk;ku dh ekax

ikbZ xbZ vfu;ferrkvksa dh foLr`r tkap dj dk;Zokgh djsaA

lq>kodk;Z ds iwoZ o ckn esa okMZ LRkj ;k xzke Lrj ij ,d cSBd vk;ksftr dh tkuh pkfg;s

ftlesa ikjnf’kZrk gsrq O;; jkf’k lfgr vU; ppkZ;sa gksuh pkfg;s rkfd vke vkneh Hkh iwjh izfØ;k esa Hkkxhnkj gks ldsA

374

lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku yksxks }kjk mBk;s xbZ leL;k;sa ,oa

xzke lHkk esa mHkjh leL;k lacaf/kr rF;ksa dh fjiksVZ&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

xzke iapk;r& uÅok iapk;r lfefr&ekoyh

2- tkscdkMZ lacaf/kr

O;fDrxr laidZ ds nkSjku lkeus ykbZ xbZ f’kdk;rsa yksxks }kjk vkosnu djus ij Hkh tkWc dkMZ ugha cuk;s ;k fn;s x;sA tSls fd

xsgjh yky@xesjk us nks ckj vkosnu fd;k ysfdu tkWc dkMZ vHkh rd ugha feykA blh izdkj vU; yksx gS] tks dke djuk pkgrs gS ysfdu muds tkWc dkMZ tkjh ugha fd;s tk jgs gSA

375

3- dke ds vkosnu ls lacaf/kr

O;fDrxr laidZ ds nkSjku yksxksa ls dh xbZ ppkZ dke ds fy, vkosnu djuk gS yksxksa dks bl ckr dk irk ugha dk;Z vkjEHk

gksus ls ,d fnu igys lwpuk ns nh tkrh gSaA

3 lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku in;k=k Vksyh }kjk dk;ZLFky dh fjiksVZ

dk;Z dk p;u xzke ;k okMZ Lrj ij cSBdj izkFkfedrk ds vk/kkj ij ugh gqvk gSA u gh xkao okyksa dks okf"kZd dk;Z;kstuk ds ckjs esa tkudkjh gSA

dk;Z 5 fd-eh- ds vUnj gh py jgk FkkA xzsoy lM+d dk dk;Z py jgk Fkk dk;Z ,slh txg py jgk Fkk ftlls yksxksa dks ml jkLrsa ls Qk;nk ugha g]S D;ksa fd ogka vkcknh ugh gS

376

dk;ZLFky tgka ij dke py jgk Fkk ogka ij eLVjjksy miyC/k Fks ysfdu os Hkjs ugh x;s Fks] etnwjksa ds vuqlkj igyh ckj gh eLVjjksy dk;ZLFky ij vk;s gS ges’kk gh mudh gktjh fdlh jftLVj ;k dkxt ij yh tkrh gSA

ihus dk ikuh@Nk;k ,oa LokLF; dh lqfo/kk miyC/k Fkh ¼ek:okl½ ysfdu LokLF; dh lqfo/kk dk bartke jk; th xqM+k esa ugha FkkA

jk; th dk xqMk lkbZM ij pkj cPpsa FksA dzs'k O;oLFkk Fkh ftl nj ls yscj dk Hkqxrku gks jgk gSa Amlh nj ls dzs'k O;oLFkk ds etnwjksa dk Hkh Hkqxrku gks jgk gSa A etnwjksa dks 30 ls 50 ds chp Hkqxrku fd;k x;kA esV dks eki dh tkudkjh ugha gSa A u gh etnwjksa dks ekidj dk;Z fn;k tkrk gSaA estjeasV Hkh muds lkeus ugha fy;k tkrk gSaA

i[kokM+k [kRe gksus ds ckn uirh dh tkrh FkhA nSfud eki dh tkudkjh etnwjksa dks ugha nh tkrh FkhA

dk;Z LFky ij dke ij efgyk;s T;knk ns[kh xbZA yxHkx efgyk % iq:"k ¾ 9%1 fuxjkuh lfefr xfBr gSA ysfdu etnwjksa dsk bldh tkudkjh ugha gSaA

377

lkekftd vads{k.k in;k=k Vksyh }kjk fVIi.kh &izHkko’kkyh yksxksa ds nckc es xzkeokfl;ksa ds eu esa ;g Mj Fkk fd ;fn okLrfodrk dgsxsa rks gesa vxyh ckj dke ij ugha yxk;k tk;sxkA

lwpuk ,oa jkstxkj vf/kdkj vfHk;ku dh ekax@lq>ko

dk;Z 'kq: gksus ds igys o ckn esa okMZ Lrj o xzke Lrj ij cSBds vk;ksftr gksuh pkfg;sA

378

lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku yksxks }kjk mBk;s xbZ leL;k;sa ,oa

xzke lHkk esa mHkjh leL;k lacaf/kr rF;ksa dh fjiksVZ&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

xzke iapk;r& ck.kk dyk iapk;r lfefr&ljkM+k

1 dk;ksZ ls lacf/kr fooj.k

،

dk;Z dk uke xkao ,tsUlh

1 xzsoy ljnq ukjM+k ls eqysuth

ukoM+

xzke iapk;r

2 xzsoy ukoM+k ls Fknk ok;k iuok

Hksjok

xkze iapk;r

379

3 xzsoy cnxkjh ls edjokf.k;k

cnxkjh

xkze iapk;r

4 cMk rkykc xgjk ,oa ejEer

cnxkjh

xzke iapk;r

5 ikyk mipkj ,oa Mcyw,p,l fuekZ.k

Hksjok

OufoHkkx

uksV%& lHkh dk;Z izxfr ij gSA

2 tkscdkMZ lacaf/krnyk @ghjk ] cnh@y{e.k] xkSre@Hkhek ¼Hksjok½ lfgr vU; yksxksa ds tkWc dkMZ dk mi;ksx esV }kjk QthZ rjhds ls fd;k tk jgk gS vkSj QthZ bUVªh dj iSlk mBk;k tk jgk gSA

380

3 dke ds vkosnu ls lacaf/kr

fcuk vkosnu ds dk;Z gks jgs gSA etnwjksa dks dke ds fy;s vkosnu dh dksbZ tkudkjh ugh gSA esV }kjk [kqn gh Hkj fy;s tkrs gSA lHkh vkosnu 15 fnu ds fy;s gh gksrs gSA

4- Hkqxrku lacaf/kr

Hkqxrku fcuk eLVjjksy ds gh ljiap ;k lfpo ds ?kj esa gksrs gSA vaxwBk ;k nLr[kr dkih dk jftLVj esa ysrs gSA

5 fØ;kUo;u vkSj ns[kjs[k

dk;Z ds iwoZ ;k nkSjku fdlh Hkh izdkj dh QksVksxzkQh ugh dh xbZ u gh fuxjkuh lfefr dh dksbZ Hkwfedk ns[kjs[k esa jgh D;ksa fd lfefr rks xfBr gS ysfdu lnL;ksa dks

381

rks irk gh ugha fd oks bl lfefr ds lnL; gSA ftlls dk;Z dh xq.koRrk dh Hkh tkap ugh gks ikbZA

6 lkekftd vads{k.k ds nkSjku in;k=k Vksyh }kjk dk;ZLFky dh fjiksVZ

xzke lHkk dk;Zokgh jftLVj easa izLrko ys j[kk gS] 6 ekgh ;k okf"kZd dk;Z vk;kstuk lkoZtfud fuxjkuh ds fy, dgha Hkh pLik ugha gS] u gh vke yksxksa dks ekywe gSA

vf/kdre nwjh 3 fdyksehVj gSa] dk;Z 1 o"kZ iwoZ ls py jgs gSa] cksMZ ,d ekg iwoZ yxk;s x;s gS dk;ZLFky ij eLVjjksy miyC/k ik;s x;s ysfdu [kkyh Fks vkSj esVks dks Hkh eLVjjksy

Hkjuk ugha vkrk FkkA dk;Z LFky ij LokLF; lqfo/kk gsrq nokbZ dk fdV] Nk;k] ikuh dh O;oLFkk] CkPpksa

gsrq >wyk vkfn O;oLFkk;s ns[kh xbZA dk;Z tslhch e'khu }kjk gks jgs gS o Bsdsnkjh ls Hkh dke py jgs FksA esV dks eki dh tkudkjh ugha gS o etnqjksa dks eki dj dk;Z ugha fn;k tk jgk gSaA dk;Z LFky ij ftrus Hkh etnwj dk;Zjr Fks lHkh ,d gh lewg esa dk;Z dj jgs Fks u rks dke

eki ds vuqlkj Fkk u gh esV ;k etnwjksa dks eki ds ckjs esa tkudkjh FkhA

382

dk;Z LFky ij efgyk o iq:"k dh la[;k dk vuqikr yxHkx 40%60 dk FkkA

7 dke ugha fd;k x;k ijUrq Hkqxrku mBk;k x;k etnwj dks iSls ughs feys

dza-la-

uke tkWc dkMZ la[;k

EkLVjjksy uEcj

fnu jkf'k

1 nyk@ghjkth

42 603566174527048863649

13131213

5855851320585

;ksx 51 3075

383

buds }kjk ,d Hkh ckj dk;Z ugha fd;k rFkk budk tkWc dkMZ esV ds ikl gh Fkk tks fd in;k=k ds nkSjku mUgsa fn;k x;k ftlesa 3075 :i;sa ntZ Fks] rFkk ;g jkf'k mDr eLVjjksy ls mBk;h x;h gSa A ,d i[kokM+sa esa bUgsa dkjhxj ds :i easa fn[kk;k x;k gSa Anyk@ghjk gLrk{kj djrs gSa tcfd eLVjjksy esa vaxwBk yxk;k gSaA

8 dke ls vf/kd dk;Zfnol dk Hkqxrku mBk;k x;k vkSj etnwj dks iSls ugh feys

dza-la-

uke tkWc dkMZ la[;k

okLrfod dk;Z i[kokM+k

tkWc dkMZ esa ntZ i[kokMs+

tkWc dkMZ esa ntZ vf/kd dk;Zfnol

Hkqxrku jkf'k vUrj

eLVjjksy la[;k

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ANNEXURE V

REPORT OF THE SOCIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED IN RANCHI

May, 2007

387

Panchayat: TilmaBlock: Khunti; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S. No.

Name of work

Village Nature of Discrepancy Comments

1.Talab Nirman

on Ghirsa Swansi’s land.

Dagiyadag

Fake Signatures. No work done but payment made. 1. Jagni Devi (w/o Kedar Swansi, Job

Card No. 7) in MR 850522. Joto Swansi (s/o Mangra Swansi,

Job Card No. 11) in MR 85052 Measurements not done in front

of labourers. Work halted since March, 2007

due to incomplete payments.

MR 85052

2. Talab Nirman on Munchi

Munda’s land.

Puttidag MR on site did not match with the MR provided by the District Administration.

All labourers on worksite had never seen a MR but their signatures and thumb impressions were present on

388

the MRs.

3.Talab Nirman on Chamara

Munda’s land.Hakkaduba

Work on halt since March, 2007 due to incomplete payments.

Payment of wages for work done before work was halted not made till now.

Fake entry on MR 85105. MRs Show that Budhan Munda worked for 12 days, but according to him he only worked for 6 days.

MR 85105MR 85109

Testimony

389

4.

Sinchai Koop Nirman on

Soma Munda’s land.

Hakkaduba

MR no. tampered with. MR 85304 on worksite not matching

with MR 85304 provided by District Administration as the MR on worksite doesn’t have signatures and thumb impressions.

MR show payments made according to Rs. 76.68 but labourers say that payments made according to Rs. 73.

MR 85304

5.

Sinchai Koop Nirman on Kinsuram’s

land.

Karoda

Incomplete payment. No visit by J.E. for measurement,

even though the depth of the well is now 18 feet.

Confusion regarding payment for cutting of stone, according to the ‘choka’ system.

Testimony

6. Talab Nirman on Birsa

Munda’s land.

Tilma Fake/Double entry on MR 85233/85234

1. Bargi Mahli (s/o Mangra Mahli, Job Card No. 63) has worked for 9 days in a week, which is impossible.

MR 85233MR 85234

390

2. Aetwari Devi (w/o Bargi Mahli, Job Card No. 63) has worked for 8 days in a week, which is impossible.

Cheque of amount Rs. 23722 dated 30.03.07 reached on 17.05.07, just a day before our visit to the site.

7.Nahar Nirman on Surendra Lohra’s land.

Latarhatu

Double entry for 4 members of the same family (Birsingh Munda, s/o Gansa Munda, Job Card No. 2017) in MR 1204 and MR 1232, both for 8.03.06-31.03.06.

Old Job cards given for renewal. Have not been received since last year.

This project was sanctioned on the name of Surendra Lohra, who is the former panchayat sevak, but is actually being constructed on Balku Munda’s land.

MR 1204MR 1232

391

8.Talab Nirman

on Panda Munda’s land.

Sandasom

Fake entries. MRs 85084/86/90 show that Sargi Devi (Job Card No. 51) worked for 18 days; she says she never worked at this site.

MRs show that Jambi Devi (w/o Thakur Munda, Job Card No. 9) worked for 24 days, whereas she only worked for 12 days. Similarly the MRs show that her husband Thakur Munda worked for 24 days when he actually did only 12 days of work. They both worked together for 24 days but the MRs show that each did 24 days (i.e. 48 days of work).

MR 85084MR 85086MR 85090

MR 85092MR 85098

General comments

1.Workers unwilling to come for work due to delayed payment.

392

2.Lack of general awareness about the NREGA.3.Measurement not taken on time.4.Payment is not done according to measurement.

393

Panchayat: ChatraBlock: Angada; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Talab Nirman Budi Beda

Forged entries in muster rolls

MR No. 22252/22253 Worked for 1 day, MR entries show 11 days, Rs. 80 received

Worked for 5 days, received Rs. 377, MR entries show 12 days

4-A

394

JC No. 01, MR No. 22260/22263 Worked for 1 week MR shows entries shows 24 days

JC No. 225, MR No. 22255/22257/22259/22262 Worked for 6 days MR entries shows 18 days.

395

Group No: 5Panchayat: TaatiBlock: Angada , District : Ranchi, State- Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Bhadro Bedi Talab Nirman

Jaradih Durgacharan Lohar’s job card Has no date of registration ( Job Card No- 003/68)

5 -A

2.Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Wages – payments not made at the required time, usually in 30 days

Results in people not demanding work

5-B

3. Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Job Cards with sachiv and with

Possibilities of making wrong entries

5-C

396

the workers and corruption4

Bhadro Bedi Talab Nirman

Jaradih Adhanu Lohara s/o Jagarnath LoharaJob Card No 033/153

Wages and no of days not posted in the Job Card

5-D

5. Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Work allocated to 5 individuals according to chowka, but entry in MR according to days of work, which do not match

This results in denial of daily wages, no rational basis to the MR

5-E

6.Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Sumitra Lohara worked for 7 days , paid Rs 500, Job Card with Sachiv

Cannot verify entry in the JC

5 F

397

7.Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Bhudini Devi w/o Gurjas Bedia MR No: 22674, entry of registration no of JC is 202, whereas it actually is 147

This discrepancy is because the entries have not been made when the work was on, and suggests malafide

5-G

8. Bhadro Bedi Talab Nirman

Jaradih Kela Oraon w/o late Dom Oroan, Job Card No 05, MR No: 22676,6 days entered in the MR, paid Rs 300 not entered in MR

Amount paid not entered suggests malafide

5-H

9. Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Manil Oroan, Jagbandu Oroan, Langdu Bedia, Budaram Bedia, Nimki Devi,

Suggests malafide 5-I

398

Jagdish Bedia, Dbarma Lohar, Itwari Devi- MR 22676Amount paid not entered column is blank

10. Bhadro Bedi Talab Nirman

Jaradih Date and month not reflected in MR No 22675, of Maneshwar Bedia s/o late Jeevardhan Bedia, nor in the Job Card ( No 003/39)

Suggests malafide 5-J

11. Bhadro BediTalab Nirman

Jaradih Asharam Bedia s/o late Phool chand Bedia MR No: 22656 Job Card 174, entered wrongly as Job

5-K

399

Card No 164

12 Mungadih Discrepancy between job card and MR 22541 in the case of Vedana Bedia- Job Card 004/3

5-L

400

13 Mungadih No indication of gender in the muster roll, no authorized signature of the concerned authorityMR No 22543

5-M

14 Mungadih Bhodana Bedia MR No 225440Job Card No 004/51Entered as 00100

Irregularity 5-N

15 Kup NirmanAdyaksh- Chaudhary Bedia, Sachiv Bodhana Bedia

Mungadih Sohari Devi states she worked for 6 days and she was paid after 25 days. She did not apply for work under NREGA

In all works managed by Abhikartas, the workers are hired by the beneficiary without going through the process of job application etc, denying the worker

5-O

401

the possibilities of rights and redressal under the Act

16. Kup NirmanAdyaksh- Chaudhary Bedia, Sachiv Bodhana Bedia

Mungadih Work suspended, reasons not known. Workers are unaware of NREGA

Lack of awareness of the NREGA, denies the workers the possibilities of demanding work

5-P

17. Kup NirmanAdyaksh- Chaudhary Bedia, Sachiv Bodhana Bedia

Mungadih Sohari DeviMR No 22542 Job Card 004/55 , Amount paid as Wages not entered in Job Card

Minor irregularity 5-Q

18. Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha Mangra OraonMR Nos- 22627, 22628, 22630, Job Card No- 005/21. Days eneterd in three MRs = 12 ½, actually worked

Suggests malafide 5-R

402

for 18 days, payments received 460/- Job Card not with worker

19 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha Irregularities in muster rolls in general

All muster rolls must be publicly displayed and easily accessible.

5-S

20 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha No awareness of demand driven nature of NREGA, and therefore no job applications filed

Increase awareness and innovate methods of communication

5-T

21 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha Many workers do not have job cards

House to house survey to ensure that all workers have job cards

5-U

403

22 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, 5AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha Raju Oraon worked for 6 ½ days but received Rs 400/-

Non-payment of minimum wages

5-V

23 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha Well dug 121 feet, total amount sanctioned 1, 19, 400. Only 26,000/-, worth of work done but only an advance of 19,500/-received. Suspect discrepancies

Verify work, wages and records

5-W

24 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon

Navadiha Sushila Linda w/o Vrish Linda Job Card 005/28, worker for 5 days,

Minimum wages not paid

5-X

404

Sachiv no mention of wages paid ( Rs 300)

405

25 Kup NirmanShanicharva Oraon, AdyakshSukhram Oraon Sachiv

Navadiha Dhano Oraon s/o Etva Oraon MR No 22626, 22628, 22630Job Card No18 worked for 11 days in total, but 12 days entered in Job Card, wages paid 800 not entered in the JC

Irregularities and non payment of minimum wages, suspect siphoning of money

5-Y

26 Jaradiha Somra Bedia s/o Dhunai Bedia Job Card 003/155, Non Payment of wages has made him discontinue work

No knowledge of unemployment allowance

5-Z

27 Jaradiha Bhola LoharaJob Card is with Sachiv, has

Action must be taken for systematic non payment of minimum

5-AA

406

worked on talaab. Late payment

wages. No awareness of the details on NREGA

28 Jaradiha Pratap LoharaJob Card is with Sachiv, has worked on talaab. Late payment after 1 month

Action must be taken for systematic non payment of minimum wages. No awareness of the details on NREGA

5-AB

29 Jaradiha Adhanu Lohara s/o jaharnath LoharaJob Card No 003/153

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work

5-AC

30 Jaradiha Rijni DeviJob Card with the Sachiv, No awareness of NREGA.

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work

5-AD

31 Jaradiha Raghunath BediaJob Card No 198

No awareness of NREGA and demand

5-AE

407

Payments not made in time

driven nature of work

408

32 Jaradiha Budni Devi w/o Gurjas Bedia, Job Card No 147, non payment of wages in time. Bribe given of Rs 70 to 100 for opening a Postal Account

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work

5 AF

33 Jaradiha Bhadro Bedia (Adhyaksh) Talaab sanctioned. He has the MR and the job cards are with sachiv. Neither have any understanding of entries in MRs. Work stopped because of non-release of funds.

All sachivs must be trained in MR entry and maintenance. There should be a system for regular release of funds for works on private land

5- AG

409

Sanctioned amount 1, 67, 200

34 Jaradiha Soma Bedia Work closed because wage payments are made after 1 month

There should be a system for regular release of funds for works on private land

5 -AH

35 Kup NirmanRamesh Bedia

Jaradiha The beneficiary ahs no knowledge about MRs and work had stopped because of non release of funds and wage payment has therefore been delayed

There should be a system for regular release of funds for works on private land

5-AI

36 Kup NirmanChaudhary Bedia

Mungadiha Chothi Kumari Job Card with her, non payment of

Systems of NEGA implementation on private wells

5-AJ

410

minimum wages in time. Work stopped because of non-release of funds.

sanctioned needs to be reviewed.

411

37. Kup NirmanChaudhary Bedia

Mungadiha Worked for 20- 25 days and not paid wages

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work or payment norms.

5-AK

38 Mungadiha Bedana Bedia Wages not paid in time. Discrepancy between chowka and daily wages, in work on talaab.

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work or payment norms.Work norms have to be reviewed.

5-AL

39 Kup NirmanChaudhary Bedia

Mungadiha Chaudhary Bedia and Bodana Bedia, Baleshwar Bedia Work on Wells stopped because of lack of funds, now there is water collected in the well, no money to lift the water to

Systems need to be improved

5- AM

412

continue workSanctioned amount 1,19, 400/- but received only 15000.

40 Kup NirmanSeencharwa Oroan

Navadih Raju Oraon, Job Card No 005/34Non payment of minimum wages and delayed payments

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work or payment norms.Work norms have to be reviewed.

5-AN

41 Kup NirmanSeencharwa Oroan

Navadih Sushil LindaJob Card No 005/28Worked 5 days, has no information about his card and has not received full payment

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work or payment norms.Work norms have to be reviewed

5-AO

413

42 Kup NirmanSeencharwa Oroan

Navadih Dhano Oroan s/o Etwah OraonJob Card No 005/18Work entered on JC but payments not made on time

No awareness of NREGA and demand driven nature of work or payment norms.Work norms have to be reviewed

5-AP

43 Kup NirmanSeencharwa Oroan

Navadih Shanichrva OroanJob Card No 005/25Payments not made on time. Work norms for hard rock must be revised.

Work norms have to be reviewed.

5-AQ

GENERAL COMMENTS:1. General awareness of NREGA very low, government needs to start special drives in this

area

414

2. Delayed payment of wages has led workers to stay away from work denying them their right to work guaranteed by the NREGAS

3. Illegal Gratification for opening postal accounts4. Discrepancies between MRs and Job Cards5. Work norms need to be revised6. Choka and Daily wages is an issue which needs to be addressed immediately and the

policy changed7. Training on record maintenance imperative

415

Panchayat: PaenkaBlock: Angada District: Ranchi State: Jharkand

S.No

Name Of Work

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference

No1. Kup Nirman

Seema OraonSoni DeviJob Card No-152 , MR No-51153, 6 days entered in MR, 3 days entered in Job Card, RS.230 pending

Minimum wages not paid

9-A

2. Kup NirmanSeema Oraon

Dibru OraonJob Card No-111MR No- 51152Total 27 days entered in MR, 31

Minimum wages not paid

9-B

416

days entered in Job Card, Paid Rs.2033

3. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Meela DeviJob Card No-192MR No-5114 6 days entered in MR, 7 days entered in Job Card, paid omlyRs.400 out of Rs.536.76

Wages pending, suggests malafide

9-C

4. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Maniram MahatoJob Card No-046MR NO- 5110632 chowka dug,Worked for 23 days and out of Rs.1763 paid only Rs.1400

Payment not given according to measurement.

Rs.363 is due.

9-D

5. Talab Nirman Jarga Bhuneshwar 9-E

417

Domna Oraon MahtoJob Card No- 055MR No- 5110912 days entered in MR and 15 days entered in Job Card, out of Rs.1150.20 paid only Rs.900

Rs.20 is due.

6. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Budhni DeviJob Card No- 192Worked for 7 days but not paid at all.

Payment is due. 9-F

7. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Agastus SirkiJob Card no 150MR No- 5110728 days entered in MR and 34 days entered in Job Card, paid only Rs.1700

Rs.447 is due. 9-G

418

General Comments

1. Villagers are not being paid according to the prescribed scale of measurement.2. Serious lapses in the implementation of spreading of awareness about the Act.3. In village Jarga posters spreading awareness about NREGA and RTI were put up just 3

days before the social audit.

4. Job Cards were mostly with the abhikarta/sevak.

5. The abhikarta and the gram sevak are not trained and aware about the Act.

Panchayat: SursuBlock:Angada District: Ranchi State: Jharkand

419

S.No

Name of Work Village Nature of

Discrepancy

Comments Reference

No1. Kup Nirmaan

Yugal RjvarSukhu Work is done by

all the members of the family but the entries are made in the name of the head of the family.

According to the Act the name of the person working must be entered in the MR and Job Card.

In case someone whose name is not entered on the MR hurts themselves on the worksite then the process of giving medical aid gets complicated.

7-A

2. Kup NirmaanYugal Rjvar

Sukhu Kari DeviJob Card No-163MR No-505

Suggests malafide 7-B

420

Worked for 8 days, attendance entered in the attendance register but no entry on the MR.

3. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu Babita KumariMR No-518906 days entered in the job card but has never gone for work and is studying in class 6th.

Case of corruption.

7-C

421

4. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu Radheshyam RajvarMR No-518776 days entered in the MR and was paid Rs.258 but was not entered in the Job Card.

Underpayment Disparity

between the MR and the Job Card.

7-D

5. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu Jaychand BediaJob Card No-207Entered 3 chowka in Job Card and 4 Chowka in MR

Disparities between the Job Card and the MR.

7-E

6. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu MR is not present at the worksite.

Could cause false entries.

7-F

General Comments

422

1. Old job Cards where column of amount is not present is used extensively.2. Lot of disparities between the MRs and the Job Cards.3. Persistent problem of delayed payment and under payment.4. Lack of sufficient staff.

423

Panchayat: Bongai BedaBlock: Angada; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Ettwa TiggaKup Nirman

Banpur Fateh Toli

Muster rolls filled a month before the work actually started.(M R No – 50241)

6-A

2. Chanlal LohraTalab Nirman

Bongai beda

i. Payment not made on time.

ii. False entry in muster roll

iii. Kunti Devi had supplied water for 30 days in the work-site but

6-B

424

never been paid

3. Miti morem road from Sarandipa to Banpur

Banpuri. Fake entries in

muster rollii. Underpayment

of labour

6-C

4. Bansi OraonKup Nirman

Tanta Toli

i. Fake entries in muster roll and job card

(MR No – 50151, 50152)

ii. Non payment of wages.

One of the laborers received payment in the gram sabha organized on 20 May 2007

6-D

425

Panchayat: MurhiBlock: Khunti; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Tirla DeviKup Nirman

Terom Contractor used for carrying out the work Delayed payment(MR No – 127317, 127318, 127321)

Group – 11

2. Talab Nirman Dabgana Work stopped due to delayed payment

Group – 11

3. Talab Maramat Bandh Toli Inflated entries in the Muster Roll

Group – 11

426

(MR No - 109670, 109669)(MR No - 2601, 2602, 2605, 2622, 2636)

4. Khudia Munda Barkargi People are migrating from the villageDue to delay in release of fund he has mortgaged his land to pay the wage

Group – 11

5.Luila MundaIrrigation Well

Hesag Expenses increased due to finding of stone beneath the surface

Group – 11

427

Panchayat: SiladonBlock: Khunti; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Kishtochit MundaTalab Nirman

Barudi i. No wages have been paid for over a month

ii. Work started even though many workers were without job cards

MR No. 127668

2. Sirva MundaKuan Nirman

Latrjung Work started in February and job

MR No. 127735

428

cards were made in April.

3. Sukhram MundaTalab Nirman

Kumkuma

Estimate for work Rs. 3,92,000 but the worksite board displayed the work estimate as Rs. 1,69,200

Job card was with the Panchayat sewak for 10 months.Three works sanctioned, while there was no demand for work.

MR No. 127789

4. Birsa MundaKup Nirman

Potom Gada

Job card was with the Pradhan for 3 months

MR No. 127951

127952

429

5. Fugu Singh MundaTalab Nirman

Chukru Pradhan is the beneficiary of the scheme. The block office said that the talab should be built first as the office has received orders for only 2 works and this work is to be carried out first. Even though this work was number 5 on the list of works decided by the gram sabha.

MR No. 127716

6. Sunder MundaTalab Nirman

Chitramu The junior engineer (JE) has not come to take measurement of work even once, since the work

430

started 3 months ago.

Muster rolls filled a month before the work actually started. (Details enclosed)

The Beneficiary and workers had to pay Rs. 300 to the panchayat sewak to carry out measurement of work. Even after paying a bribe, the junior engineer (JE), who is supposed to carry out measurements did not do so, the

Written testimony of beneficiary enclosed.

431

panchayat sewak did.

7. Guslu MundaTalab Nirman

Karge False entries in measurement book. (Details enclosed)

432

8. Talab Nirman

Remta Names of 10 woman workers were struck off the muster roll. Workers have to take care of their own drinking water needs. The block office says that the work estimates have no provisions for a worker on the site to provide drinking water.

9. Soma MundaTalab Nirman

Saudagh A new work for talab nirman was sanctioned where an old talab already exists. The total estimate for this

433

work is Rs. 3,16,600 (Details enclosed)

GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. In all 13 villages in this panchayat wages have not been paid for works for more than a month since the work began.

2. Workers have stopped going to the worksite.3. As a result all works have stopped.4. In 3-6 villages the beneficiary is also the pradhan of the village5. Mates have not been appointed.6. No muster rolls available on worksites, the beneficiary fills out the muster rolls at

home.7. Lack of awareness about the NREGA

434

Panchayat: KargeBlock: Mandar; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy Comments Reference No.

1.Sakal OraonKuan Nirman

Rege i. Misappropriation through inflated entries in muster roll

ii. Fake signatures on muster rolls.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-A

2.Sukra OraonKuan Nirman

Karge i. Fake and inflated entries in muster rolls.

ii. Written statement by the Secretary, Balindra Gope, that he was forced to make false entries in order to pay a

This is an extremely important instance of the person concerned testifying about his dilemma. It also shows how the beneficiary committees are caught between the

14-B

435

percentage to the block level officials.

iii. The Secretary was threatened and asked to retract his statement.

iv. This whole matter came up both at the village gram sabha as well as the block level meeting. At the block level meeting the Secretary testified and stood by his statement that he was forced to give a commission and was being threatened about making this

block officials and the people they employ. This must be taken seriously, investigated properly, and the Secretary testifying must be assured of protection and his full security. If an example is made of this case, then one of the important hidden root cause of embezzlement and exploitation can be tackled.

[Written testimony of Secretary attached]

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are

436

statement also attached]

3. Gandru PahanKuan Nirman

Rege i. Kucha muster roll found on the worksite.

ii. Huge differences found in kucha and pucca muster roll.

iii. Muster rolls forged.iv. Discrepancies in

measurement of work.

Photocopies of kuccha muster rolls attached

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-C

4. Mahesh PahanKuan Nirman

Hatmai. Muster roll created

and filled out before work started

ii. Muster rolls forged.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-D

5. Shiv OraonKuan Nirman

Karge i. Muster roll not available on

14-E

437

worksiteii. One worker shown

as working on 2 worksites the same day.

iii. Fake entries in muster rolls.

iv. 2 wells with two boards and measurement book entries showing 2 wells exist, whereas there is only 1 well.

v. Duplicate muster rolls available for the same work.

vi. Inflated entries in muster rolls. False signatures put on the muster rolls.

This is one work where there was material used and the bills were inflated. Therefore, means of monitoring material expenditure also needs to be thought about.

There was an attempt by block officials to explain away the double entries for one well, including the 2 measurement book entries as being a result of one measurement book not being available at that time. However, it was also clear at the gram sabha that the second

438

vii. Inflated material bills shown.

well had still not been cancelled and the existence of double entries in this manner seems very suspicious and must be thoroughly investigated by an independent authority.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

6. Talab Nirman Hatma i. Same worker shown in the muster roll working on two worksites the same day.

ii. Several workers shown as working for two days on different worksites

The same worker being on 2 worksites on the same day must be taken as adequate proof of corruption and the changing explanations that were offered at the gram sabha that the worker

14-F

439

in the same week. first went to one worksite and then another is unacceptable.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

7. Mangu OraonKuan Nirman

Karge i. Inflated entries in muster roll.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-G

8. Budhu OraonKuan Nirman

Tangra Toli

i. Workers who shared information with the social audit team were later beaten up by the Secretary.

This was a visit to a site outside of the social audit schedule.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-H

440

GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. The gram sabha in this panchayat was attended in large numbers by villagers, several of whom applied for work and said they were not aware that they had to apply for work.

2. A disabled person, a pregnant mother and a blind man were turned away from work. At the gram sabha the block officials said that they would provide them with work.

3. The Secretary was not present at the gram sabha as he had been warned to stay away. However, he did attend the block level meeting the next day.

Panchayat: MaltiBlock: Mandar; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

441

S.No.

Name of Work - OR

(Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Grade 1 Morem road nirman- From Aslam’s house to Jamal’s house

Chatwal i. 31 workers were shown as working for 54 days. And 10 workers were shown as working for 30 days. However, most workers have given written testimonies

This gram sabha on the 20 May 2007 showed some of the challenges that exist in institutionalizing the social audit process. There was a complaint made against the social audit team saying that they had offered money to people to testify that they had worked for fewer

15-A[Joint

complaint fo 25

workers and

written individual complaint

s of 7 workers] See also group report,

enclosed

442

(enclosed) and also spoken on the day of the gram sabha that they were employed for periods between 1 and a half to 10 days. Only a couple of workers testified that they worked for the full period and

days. There were repeated attempts to shout down the social audit team as well as those testifying. Unfortunately people from the block office seemed to be openly supporting the beneficiary over leading the attempt to suppress the testimonies. The complaint made by the beneficiary was read out aloud by a block official, and

443

they were unable to recall how many days that was.

ii. There was an attempt to suppress people and ensure they did not testify.

iii. Workers complained that they were forced to sign on blank muster

although there was no one wiling to come out and testify in support of the complaint, seemed to indicate complicity of the block officials with some of the wring doings. Unless space is provided for people to speak openly such processes of social audit will be undermined.

444

rolls.iv. Workers

only received wages according to the number of days they actually worked.

2. Basanti BeckReinforced Concrete Cement Well

Malti i. When the social audit team arrived for inspection of work at the site, they were

[Deciding a work without prior consent of the gram sabha is a grave violation of the act and warrants immediate action

15-B

445

informed that the work was complete.

ii. This work had not been decided by the gram sabha but was carried out under direction from the block office without prior consent of the gram

against the block officials. This is happening on a large scale but since this issue was discussed in Malti it is especially important that an inquiry must be initiated to find out the motives of the officials in charge for pushing this work.]

446

sabha.iii. False

entries in muster rolls and job cards.

iv. Job cards were with the Secretary even after the work was completed.

v. The Secretary decided which labourers

447

were to be employed and for how many days.

Other issuesi. Fake job

cards for Rs. 50 were also sold by a Amina Khatun

ii. Workers wanted work, but there were no applications for work available.

It is clear that people are not familiar with the process of demanding work. As soon as they got an opportunity to demand work and fill forma\s they line dup in large numbers to do so. This is true of all the panchayats

15- C[Minutes of Gram sabha]

448

This became clear when all the applications for work that the social audit team carried with them, got filled up by people on the day of the social audit, and there were no more forms available

where the social audit teams went.

449

either with the panchayat secretary or the block officials.

Panchayat: Urugutu

450

Block: Kanke; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Talab Nirman(Raju Mahto)

Under payment of labour.

Written testimony enclosed

1-A

2. (Rabul Ansari) Demanding work but not getting it.

Written testimony enclosed

1-B

3. (Sabila Khatun) Not getting job card and therefore not getting work

Written testimony enclosed

1-C

4. (Guljari Lohra) 2 job cards between one husband and wife

Written testimony enclosed

1-D

451

Late/under payment of wages

[Note: 2 jobs cards between husband and wife violates nuclear family concept given in the GOI guidelines]

5. Devendra MehliKuan Nirman

Urugutu Wages not paid for 6 weeks. &

Under payment of wages.

Joint written testimony of 10 workers enclosed.

Joint written testimony of 6 workers enclosed.

1-E

6. Lakshmi LohraTalab Nirman

Urugutu Beneficiary’s lack of awareness about procedures.Not giving work to disabled.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-F

7. Lakshmi LohraTalab Nirman

Urugutu Injury at worksite but no medical

Written testimony enclosed.

1-G

452

treatment given.

8. Budan MundaKuan Nirman

Mehdi Non payment of wages

Written testimony enclosed.

1-G

9. Baleshwar PahanKuam Nirman

Non payment of wages

Written testimony enclosed.

1-G

10. Kuan Nirman Non payment of wages.Where wages were paid it was less than the minimum wages.No medical kit and shade on worksite.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-H

11. Talab Nirman Urugutu Serious Written testimony of 1-I

453

irregularities in job cards, maintaining of records etc.

Sachiv (Secretary) enclosed.

12. (Jatru Oroan) Under payment of wages.

Written testimony enclosed

1-J

13. Desai MundaKuan Nirman

Mehdi Under payment of wages.

Written testimony of 7 workers enclosed.

1-K

14. Talab Nirman Mehdi Extra payment for excavation of hard rock not being made.

Written testimony of many labour enclosed.

1-L

15. (Mangri Devi) Mehdi Mistreatment of TB patient and non payment of wages to his wife for work done.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-M

454

16. (Yakub Ansari) & (Kani Devi)

Mehdi Not giving work to disabled person.

Written testimony enclosed.[Note: The ACT requires 3% expenditure for disabled people]

1-N

17. (Itwari Devi) Mehdi Injury at worksite but no medical treatment given.

Written testimony enclosed

1-O

18. Kalinder MundaKuan Nirman

No entries on job card.Underpayment of wages.

Written testimony enclosed

1-P

19. Ijai MundaKuan Nirman

Fake muster roll entry and defalcation of a workers wages.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-Q

20. Panchu Munda Mehdi False entries in 1-R

455

Talab Nirman muster rolls.Problem with post office entries.

Written testimony enclosed. (six testimonies)

21. Panchu MundaTalab Nirman

Mehdi Injury at worksite but no treatment.

Written testimony enclosed (three testimonies).

1-S

GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. Job card irregularities.2. Post office payment irregularities3. Work not provided to disabled persons.4. Delayed payments.5. Injured not provided medical aid on the worksite.

Panchayat: RahdaBlock: Kanke; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

456

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Vishnu OraonLand leveling

Samudah i. Records including muster rolls filled out from an earlier date but work started later.

ii. Muster rolls, job card and first aid box not available at worksite.

iii. Entries not made in job card.

iv. No worksite boards.

v. Woman worker shown on muster roll but no

During the social audit the beneficiary (labhuk) refused to show his records and ran away.

Delayed payments and even though there is money in the bank, in the beneficiary’s account, labourers are not being paid.

2-A

457

woman had come to work.

vi. Child labour (under 18) employed on this worksite.

2. Surendra OraonTalab Nirman

Balwapani

i. Delayed wage payments

ii. No crèche although there are young children.

2-B

3. Sawna OraonLand levling

Madanpur

i. Due to not receiving the next installment from the block office, work has been stopped.

For the work done so far the labourers statement and the muster roll and the job card matched

2-C

Panchayat: Kokdoro

458

Block: Kanke; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work -OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Dhodak MundaTalab Nirman

Kokdoro Double entries in muster rolls (details attached)

Relates to 7 workersBeing shown as working on the same day.

3-A

2. Dhodak MundaTalab Nirman

Kokdoro Worksite facilities Despite there being more than 5 children on the worksite there was no crèche. Children were tied to the backs of women while they were working.

3- B

459

3. Dukhan OraonKuan Nirman

ChoubeKhatenga

Role & problems of the beneficiary.

1. Due to late payments to the beneficiary workers have not been paid on time and the beneficiary himself seems to be under the control of a person who has not official relationship to the work.

2. There is video recording of the beneficiary’s statement, which can be provided.

3-C

4. Chuni PahanKup Nirman

Okhargada False entry in Job card and muster

The worker concerned has neither been paid

3-D

460

roll (details attached).

for the work done and has been shown working on the muster roll before the work actually began.

5. Suma OraonLand leveling

Okhargada Fake entries in muster roll.(details enclosed)

Except for one regular worker and two others who have done a little bit of work, the other people whose names are entered in the muster roll do not seem to have worked on the site.

3-E

6. Suma OraonLand leveling

Okhargada Role & problems of the beneficiary.

The beneficiary is under the control of 2 persons who have no official relationship to the work. (Details enclosed)

3-F

461

7. Jagannath PahanLand leveling

Okhargada Fake entries in muster roll.(details enclosed)

3-G

8. Jagannath PahanLand leveling

Okhargada Inflated entries in muster rolls (details enclosed)

Workers were under paid for the work done, as well as inflated entries were made on the muster roll, showing them as having worked for more days than they actually did.

3-H

9. Dukhu PahanKup Nirman

Chetar Muster rolls filled from a date well before the work actually started. (Details enclosed)

Names of several workers who testified to the teams are given.

3-I

462

GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. All the vigilance committees were clearly just on paper with no actual participation or understanding of their role.

2. Money was demanded from workers for making job cards.3. Several blank job cards with no entries made despite workers having gone to work and

received wages. [one copy enclosed]4. In village Okhargada, the villagers and the social audit team were threatened from

testifying, prevented from attending the gram sabha and warned against continuing the social audit process.

463

Panchayat: PaenkaBlock: Angada District: Ranchi State: Jharkand

S.No

Name Of Work

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference

No1.

Kup NirmanSeema Oraon

Soni DeviJob Card No-152 , MR No-51153, 6 days entered in MR, 3 days entered in Job Card, RS.230 pending

Minimum wages not paid

9-A

2. Kup NirmanSeema Oraon

Dibru OraonJob Card No-111MR No- 51152Total 27 days entered in MR, 31 days entered in Job Card, Paid

Minimum wages not paid

9-B

464

Rs.20333. Talab Nirman

Domna OraonJarga Meela Devi

Job Card No-192MR No-5114 6 days entered in MR, 7 days entered in Job Card, paid omlyRs.400 out of Rs.536.76

Wages pending, suggests malafide

9-C

4. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Maniram MahatoJob Card No-046MR NO- 5110632 chowka dug,Worked for 23 days and out of Rs.1763 paid only Rs.1400

Payment not given according to measurement.

Rs.363 is due.

9-D

465

5. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Bhuneshwar MahtoJob Card No- 055MR No- 5110912 days entered in MR and 15 days entered in Job Card, out of Rs.1150.20 paid only Rs.900

Rs.20 is due.9-E

6. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Budhni DeviJob Card No- 192Worked for 7 days but not paid at all.

Payment is due. 9-F

7. Talab NirmanDomna Oraon

Jarga Agastus SirkiJob Card no 150MR No- 5110728 days entered in MR and 34 days entered in

Rs.447 is due. 9-G

466

Job Card, paid only Rs.1700

General Comments

1. Villagers are not being paid according to the prescribed scale of measurement.2. Serious lapses in the implementation of spreading of awareness about the Act.3. In village Jarga posters spreading awareness about NREGA and RTI were put up just 3

days before the social audit.4. Job Cards were mostly with the abhikarta/sevak.5. The abhikarta and the gram sevak are not trained and aware about the Act.

Panchayat: Sursu

467

Block:Angada District: Ranchi State: Jharkand

S.No

Name of Work Village Nature of

Discrepancy

Comments Reference

No

1. Kup NirmaanYugal Rjvar

Sukhu Work is done by all the members of the family but the entries are made in the name of the head of the family.

According to the Act the name of the person working must be entered in the MR and Job Card.

In case someone whose name is not entered on the MR hurts themselves on the worksite then the process of giving medical

7-A

468

aid gets complicated.

2. Kup NirmaanYugal Rjvar

Sukhu Kari DeviJob Card No-163MR No-505Worked for 8 days, attendance entered in the attendance register but no entry on the MR.

Suggests malafide 7-B

3. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu Babita KumariMR No-518906 days entered in the job card but has never gone for work and is studying in class 6th.

Case of corruption.

7-C

4. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu Radheshyam RajvarMR No-51877

Underpayment Disparity

between the MR

7-D

469

6 days entered in the MR and was paid Rs.258 but was not entered in the Job Card.

and the Job Card.

5. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu Jaychand BediaJob Card No-207Entered 3 chowka in Job Card and 4 Chowka in MR

Disparities between the Job Card and the MR.

7-E

6. Talab NirmanDaroga Rjvar

Sarlu MR is not present at the worksite.

Could cause false entries.

7-F

General Comments

1. Old job Cards where column of amount is not present is used extensively.2. Lot of disparities between the MRs and the Job Cards.3. Persistent problem of delayed payment and under payment.

470

4. Lack of sufficient and efficient staff.

Panchayat: SatakiBlock:Angada District: Ranchi State: Jharkand

S.No

Name Of Work

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference

No1. Talab nirmaan Sataki Shrikant Oraon

Job Card No-3/5Suggests malafide. 8-A

471

Chunni Singh Munda

6 days entered in the MR but no entry made in the Job Card.

2. Talab nirmaanChunni Singh Munda

Sataki Ram Rai MundaJob Card No-3/34MR NO-51356Worked for 16 days but was paid only Rs.1100 out of Rs.1236

Rs.126 is due. 8-B

3. Kup NirmaanSukhram Oraon

Kankatta Balram Oraon s/o Nando OraonJob Card No-1/133MR No-25221Worked for 3 ½ days but entered as 4 days in Job Card

Disparity between the amount entered in the job card and muster roll.

8-C

4. Kup Nirmaan Kankatta Dalgovind Oraon Fake MR entries 8-D

472

Sukhram Oraon s/o Sukhram OraonJob Card No- 1/127MR No-25223Thumb impression is on the MR but the worker is able to sign.

General Comments

1. Payment delayed due to which the work was suspended (Kup Nirmaan- Kanta Toli).

2. MR not present at the work site (Talab Nirmaan- Kankatta).3. Lack of awareness about the Act amongst the villagers and the staff.

473

4. Signatures of workers are taken on plain sheet (while giving payment) instead of the MR.

5. Job Cards are not with the labourers.6. 17 families in Kanta Tola and Kankatta do not have a Job Card (list attached).

474

Panchayat: KokdoroBlock: Kanke; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work -OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Dhodak MundaTalab Nirman

Kokdoro Double entries in muster rolls (details attached)

Relates to 7 workersBeing shown as working on the same day.

3-A

2. Dhodak MundaTalab Nirman

Kokdoro Worksite facilities Despite there being more than 5 children on the worksite there was no crèche. Children were tied to the backs of women while they were working.

3- B

475

3. Dukhan OraonKuan Nirman

ChoubeKhatenga

Role & problems of the beneficiary.

3. Due to late payments to the beneficiary workers have not been paid on time and the beneficiary himself seems to be under the control of a person who has not official relationship to the work.

4. There is video recording of the beneficiary’s statement, which can be provided.

3-C

4. Chuni Pahan Okhargada False entry in Job The worker concerned 3-D

476

Kup Nirman card and muster roll (details attached).

has neither been paid for the work done and has been shown working on the muster roll before the work actually began.

5. Suma OraonLand leveling

Okhargada Fake entries in muster roll.(details enclosed)

Except for one regular worker and two others who have done a little bit of work, the other people whose names are entered in the muster roll do not seem to have worked on the site.

3-E

6. Suma OraonLand leveling

Okhargada Role & problems of the beneficiary.

The beneficiary is under the control of 2 persons who have no official relationship to the work. (Details

3-F

477

enclosed)

7. Jagannath PahanLand leveling

Okhargada Fake entries in muster roll.(details enclosed)

3-G

8. Jagannath PahanLand leveling

Okhargada Inflated entries in muster rolls (details enclosed)

Workers were under paid for the work done, as well as inflated entries were made on the muster roll, showing them as having worked for more days than they actually did.

3-H

9. Dukhu PahanKup Nirman

Chetar Muster rolls filled from a date well before the work actually started.

Names of several workers who testified to the teams are given.

3-I

478

(Details enclosed)

GENERAL COMMENTS:1. All the vigilance committees were clearly just on paper with no actual participation or understanding of their role.2. Money was demanded from workers for making job cards.3. Several blank job cards with no entries made despite workers having gone to work and received wages. [one copy

enclosed]4. In village Okhargada, the villagers and the social audit team were threatened from testifying, prevented from attending the

gram sabha and warned against continuing the social audit process.

479

Panchayat: UrugutuBlock: Kanke; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Talab Nirman(Raju Mahto)

Under payment of labour.

Written testimony enclosed

1-A

2. (Rabul Ansari) Demanding work but not getting it.

Written testimony enclosed

1-B

3. (Sabila Khatun) Not getting job card and therefore not getting work

Written testimony enclosed

1-C

4. (Guljari Lohra) 2 job cards Written testimony 1-D

480

between one husband and wife

Late/under payment of wages

enclosed

[Note: 2 jobs cards between husband and wife violates nuclear family concept given in the GOI guidelines]

5. Devendra MehliKuan Nirman

Urugutu Wages not paid for 6 weeks. &

Under payment of wages.

Joint written testimony of 10 workers enclosed.

Joint written testimony of 6 workers enclosed.

1-E

481

6. Lakshmi LohraTalab Nirman

Urugutu Beneficiary’s lack of awareness about procedures.Not giving work to disabled.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-F

7. Lakshmi LohraTalab Nirman

Urugutu Injury at worksite but no medical treatment given.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-G

8. Budan MundaKuan Nirman

Mehdi Non payment of wages

Written testimony enclosed.

1-G

9. Baleshwar PahanKuam Nirman

Non payment of wages

Written testimony enclosed.

1-G

10. Kuan Nirman Non payment of Written testimony 1-H

482

wages.Where wages were paid it was less than the minimum wages.No medical kit and shade on worksite.

enclosed.

11. Talab Nirman Urugutu Serious irregularities in job cards, maintaining of records etc.

Written testimony of Sachiv (Secretary) enclosed.

1-I

12. (Jatru Oroan) Under payment of wages.

Written testimony enclosed

1-J

483

13. Desai MundaKuan Nirman

Mehdi Under payment of wages.

Written testimony of 7 workers enclosed.

1-K

14. Talab Nirman Mehdi Extra payment for excavation of hard rock not being made.

Written testimony of many labour enclosed.

1-L

15. (Mangri Devi) Mehdi Mistreatment of TB patient and non payment of wages to his wife for work done.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-M

16. (Yakub Ansari) & (Kani Devi)

Mehdi Not giving work to disabled person.

Written testimony enclosed.[Note: The ACT requires 3% expenditure fro

1-N

484

disabled people]

17. (Itwari Devi) Mehdi Injury at worksite but no medical treatment given.

Written testimony enclosed

1-O

18. Kalinder MundaKuan Nirman

No entries on job card.Underpayment of wages.

Written testimony enclosed

1-P

19. Ijai MundaKuan Nirman

Fake muster roll entry and defalcation of a workers wages.

Written testimony enclosed.

1-Q

20. Panchu MundaTalab Nirman

Mehdi False entries in muster rolls.Problem with post office entries.

Written testimony enclosed. (six testimonies)

1-R

21. Panchu Munda Mehdi Injury at worksite Written testimony 1-S

485

Talab Nirman but no treatment. enclosed (three testimonies).

GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. Job card irregularities.2. Post office payment irregularities3. Work not provided to disabled persons.4. Delayed payments.5. Injured not provided medical aid on the worksite.

486

Panchayat: RahdaBlock: Kanke; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Vishnu OraonLand leveling

Samudah vii. Records including muster rolls filled out from an earlier date but work started later.

viii. Muster rolls, job card and first aid box not available at worksite.

ix. Entries not made in job card.

During the social audit the beneficiary (labhuk) refused to show his records and ran away.

Delayed payments and even though there is money in the bank, in the beneficiary’s account, labourers are not being paid.

2-A

487

x. No worksite boards.

xi. Woman worker shown on muster roll but no woman had come to work.

xii. Child labour (under 18) employed on this worksite.

2. Surendra OraonTalab Nirman

Balwapani

iii. Delayed wage payments

iv. No crèche although there are young children.

2-B

3. Sawna OraonLand levling

Madanpur

ii. Due to not receiving the

For the work done so far the labourers

2-C

488

next installment from the block office, work has been stopped.

statement and the muster roll and the job card matched

Panchayat: KargeBlock: Mandar; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy Comments Reference No.

1. Sakal OraonKuan Nirman

Rege iii. Misappropriation through inflated entries in muster roll

iv. Fake signatures on muster rolls.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-A

2. Sukra OraonKuan Nirman

Karge v. Fake and inflated entries in muster rolls.

This is an extremely important instance of the person concerned

14-B

489

vi. Written statement by the Secretary, Balindra Gope, that he was forced to make false entries in order to pay a percentage to the block level officials.

vii. The Secretary was threatened and asked to retract his statement.

viii. This whole matter came up both at the village gram sabha as well as the block level meeting. At the block level meeting the Secretary testified and stood by his statement

testifying about his dilemma. It also shows how the beneficiary committees are caught between the block officials and the people they employ. This must be taken seriously, investigated properly, and the Secretary testifying must be assured of protection and his full security. If an example is made of this case, then one of the important hidden root cause of embezzlement and exploitation can be tackled.

490

that he was forced to give a commission and was being threatened about making this statement

[Written testimony of Secretary attached]

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

3. Gandru PahanKuan Nirman

Rege v. Kucha muster roll found on the worksite.

vi. Huge differences found in kucha and pucca muster roll.

vii. Muster rolls forged.viii. Discrepancies in

measurement of work.

Photocopies of kuccha muster rolls attached

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-C

4. Mahesh Pahan Hatmaiii. Muster roll created

and filled out before [Details of proceedings 14-D

491

Kuan Nirman work startediv. Muster rolls forged.

of the gram sabha are also attached]

5. Shiv OraonKuan Nirman

Karge viii. Muster roll not available on worksite

ix. One worker shown as working on 2 worksites the same day.

x. Fake entries in muster rolls.

xi. 2 wells with two boards and measurement book entries showing 2 wells exist, whereas there is only 1 well.

xii. Duplicate muster

This is one work where there was material used and the bills were inflated. Therefore, means of monitoring material expenditure also needs to be thought about.

There was an attempt by block officials to explain away the double entries for one well, including the 2 measurement book entries as being a

14-E

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rolls available for the same work.

xiii. Inflated entries in muster rolls. False signatures put on the muster rolls.

xiv. Inflated material bills shown.

result of one measurement book not being available at that time. However, it was also clear at the gram sabha that the second well had still not been cancelled and the existence of double entries in this manner seems very suspicious and must be thoroughly investigated by an independent authority.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

6. Talab Nirman Hatma iii. Same worker shown in the muster roll working

The same worker being on 2 worksites on the same day must be

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493

on two worksites the same day.

iv. Several workers shown as working for two days on different worksites in the same week.

taken as adequate proof of corruption and the changing explanations that were offered at the gram sabha that the worker first went to one worksite and then another is unacceptable.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

7. Mangu OraonKuan Nirman

Karge ii. Inflated entries in muster roll.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

14-G

8. Budhu OraonKuan Nirman

Tangra Toli

ii. Workers who shared

This was a visit to a site outside of the

14-H

494

information with the social audit team were later beaten up by the Secretary.

social audit schedule.

[Details of proceedings of the gram sabha are also attached]

GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. The gram sabha in this panchayat was attended in large numbers by villagers, several of whom applied for work and said they were not aware that they had to apply for work.

2. A disabled person, a pregnant mother and a blind man were turned away from work. At the gram sabha the block officials said that they would provide them with work.

3. The Secretary was not present at the gram sabha as he had been warned to stay away. However, he did attend the block level meeting the next day.

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Panchayat: MaltiBlock: Mandar; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Grade 1 Morem road nirman- From Aslam’s house to Jamal’s house

Chatwal v. 31 workers were shown as working for 54 days. And 10 workers were shown as working for 30 days. However, most workers have given written

This gram sabha on the 20 May 2007 showed some of the challenges that exist in institutionalizing the social audit process. There was a complaint made against the social audit team saying that they had offered money to people to testify that they had worked for

15-A[Joint

complaint fo 25

workers and written individual

complaints of 7

workers] See also

group

496

testimonies (enclosed) and also spoken on the day of the gram sabha that they were employed for periods between 1 and a half to 10 days. Only a couple of workers testified that they worked for the full period and they were unable to recall how many days

fewer days. There were repeated attempts to shout down the social audit team as well as those testifying. Unfortunately people from the block office seemed to be openly supporting the beneficiary over leading the attempt to suppress the testimonies. The complaint made by the beneficiary was read out aloud by a block official, and although there was no one wiling to come out and testify in support of the complaint, seemed to indicate complicity of

report, enclosed

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that was. vi. There was an

attempt to suppress people and ensure they did not testify.

vii. Workers complained that they were forced to sign on blank muster rolls.

viii. Workers only received wages according to the number of days they actually worked.

the block officials with some of the wring doings. Unless space is provided for people to speak openly such processes of social audit will be undermined.

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2. Basanti BeckReinforced Concrete Cement Well

Malti vi. When the social audit team arrived for inspection of work at the site, they were informed that the work was complete.

vii. This work had not been decided by the gram sabha but was carried out under direction from the block office without prior consent of the gram sabha.

[Deciding a work without prior consent of the gram sabha is a grave violation of the act and warrants immediate action against the block officials. This is happening on a large scale but since this issue was discussed in Malti it is especially important that an inquiry must be initiated to find out the motives of the officials in charge for pushing this work.]

15-B

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viii. False entries in muster rolls and job cards.

ix. Job cards were with the Secretary even after the work was completed.

x. The Secretary decided which labourers were to be employed and for how many days.

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Other issuesiii. Fake job

cards for Rs. 50 were also sold by a Amina Khatun

iv. Workers wanted work, but there were no applications for work available. This became clear when all the applications for work that the social audit team carried with them, got filled up by

It is clear that people are not familiar with the process of demanding work. As soon as they got an opportunity to demand work and fill forma\s they line dup in large numbers to do so. This is true of all the panchayats where the social audit teams went.

15- C[Minutes of

Gram sabha]

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people on the day of the social audit, and there were no more forms available either with the panchayat secretary or the block officials.

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Panchayat: ChatraBlock: Angada; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Talab Nirman Budi Beda

i. Forged entries in muster rolls

4-A

2.

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Panchayat: Bongai BedaBlock: Angada; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Ekka TiggaKup Nirman

Banpur Fateh Toli

Muster rolls filled a month before the work actually started.

6-A

2. Chanlal LohraTalab Nirman

Bongai beda

iv. Payment not made on time.

v. False entry muster roll

6-B

3. Miti morem Banpuriii. Fake entries in

muster roll 6-C

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road from Sarandipa to Banpur

iv. Underpayment of labour

4. Dansi OraonKup Nirman

Tanta Toli

iii. Fake entries in muster roll and job card

iv. Non payment of wages.

One of the laborers received payment in the gram sabha organized on 20 May 2007

6-D

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Panchayat: SiladonBlock: Khunti; District: Ranchi; State: Jharkhand

S.No.

Name of Work - OR (Person)

Village Nature of Discrepancy

Comments Reference No.

1. Talab Nirman Varudiha iii. No wages have been paid for over a month

iv. Work started even though many workers were without job cards

2. Latrjung Work started in February and job cards were made in

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April.

3. Kumkuma

Job card was with the Panchayat sewak for 10 months

4. Potom Gada

Job card was with the Pradhan for 3 months

5. Fugu Singh MundaTalab Nirman

Chukru Pradhan is the beneficiary of the scheme. The BDO said that the talab should be built on the Pradhan’s land. Even though this work was number 5 on the list of works decided by the gram sabha.

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GENERAL COMMENTS:

1. In all 13 villages in this panchayat wages have not been paid for works for more than a month since the work began.

2. Workers have stopped going to the worksite.3. As a result all works have stopped.4. In 3-6 villages the beneficiary is also the pradhan of the village

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Annexure - VI ACTIONAID, INDIASAMAJIK SAMIKHYA

The Social Audit of Jharnipalli Gram Panchayaton October 30th, 2001

Introduction:

Jharnipalli is a gram panchayat consisting of nine villages, located amidst a green and picturesque setting in the Agalpur block of Bolangir district in Orissa. Bolangir is one of the undivided “KBK” (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) districts, infamous for their recurring drought and starvation situation, for several decades now. In addition to starvation, high levels of distress migration are witnessed year after year. The situation confounds most analysts, given the fact that the macro-data from these districts indicates everything against a drought – whether these are agriculture productivity/production figures, rainfall trends, forest cover in the area. Travelling by train or road in various parts of Bolangir accentuates this sense of bafflement, since one is confronted with greenery all around – lush forests or fields. As soon as one enters the villages and looks out for the poor, one is again struck at the abject poverty

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manifested in many ways: the physical condition of the poor, their housing, clothing, the infrastructure available for them, the many forms of discrimination against them.

Jharnipalli is no different. All these apparent contradictions are visible here too. Local media persons vouch that it is the most corrupt panchayat in the block. Several villagers claim that they have been raising their voice against corruption in the village panchayat for many years now, but the officials concerned have never acted on these complaints. Two sarpanches have been dismissed/suspended in the past – incidentally, both were suspended on the grounds that they had more than two children, and not on the complaints of corruption filed against them !!! . However, the people of this GP were not aware of the reasons of suspension.

It was an important location to hold a social audit.

1. Background to the process:

Through the landmark 73rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1993, Panchayats were incorporated into the Indian constitution as the third tier of the government in the country. Also important is the fact that the Gram Sabha was given a central position, to exercise such powers and perform such functions as the legislature of a state may, by law, provide. The Gram Sabha, which is the assembly of all the adult residents of a village, is the ultimate

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repository of power over development decision-making and local bureaucracy. In the scheduled areas, the gram sabha also has powers over the management of natural resources and over local adjudication of justice in accordance with the local traditions and customs. The gram sabha, thus, is a political institution that seeks to place political power in the hands of the people, without the mediation of elected representatives. It is believed that the active functioning of gram sabhas can ensure a vibrant democracy, with elements of community participation and control, as well as transparency and accountability.

The gram sabhas have been statutorily empowered in many states to take up development planning as well as monitoring in the form of social audit. The power of social audit is seen as a necessary corollary to the power of development planning and implementation. In addition to the statutory back up provided by some states, there are Government of India instructions which prescribe a mandatory and statutory social audit of all rural development works by the gram sabha in each panchayat. The completion certificate for all village level public works should be awarded by the gram sabha, after conducting a social audit, based on which the next tranche of funds is released to the panchayat. These social audits are to be conducted in special gram sabhas, which are convened specially for this purpose, and must be conducted separately for each ward. Most people working on the issue of better participatory local governance would like to see these available spaces better utilized.

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On June 15th, 2001, a meeting was organised in the National Institute of Rural Development [NIRD], Hyderabad, to discuss ways and means of strengthening gram sabhas in the country. Senior government officials and eminent activists attended this. There were a number of suggestions that this meeting came up with, to realise the potential of greater democratisation at the village level, as envisaged in the 73rd amendment. The need for greater transparency and accountability was emphasised yet again, in this meeting, through empowered gram sabhas.

One important initiative that the meeting discussed, was to organise some “Learning By Doing TOT workshops”, of institutionalising a system of social audit in a few pilot locations, wherein the participants are expected to carry forward the same processes in their own respective constituencies.

The task of doing this was assigned to NIRD, assisted by ActionAid India, with the help of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan, which has gained invaluable experience of organising such social audits (Jan Sunwais) over the years. After several other rounds of discussions on this project, an action plan was drawn up collectively by MKSS, AAI, the Ministry of Rural Development, NIRD and other individuals and agencies involved. It was decided that the first

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such social audit would take place in Jharnipalli gram panchayat of Agalpur block in the drought-prone district of Bolangir in Orissa.

Why Jharnipalli ?

The announcement of holding the first pilot social audit at Jharnipalli only buttressed the effort that was already on in the villages of Jharnipalli Gram Panchayat.

It was 10th April 2001. A residential Training of Trainers (TOT) on panchayatiraj was nearing its completion in Bolangir, when Daniel of ActionAid came back from Rajasthan after attending the Janawad Jun Sunwai. After he shared his experience among the participants, it was participants like Jairam Bariha (who incidentally is also the President of the district level people’s forum, Central Drought Action Committee (CDAC) who showed interest to conduct the first pilot social audit in Jharnipalli.

2. The Process that led to the ‘D’ day:

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A couple of preliminary rounds of discussion by the CADMB representatives with the villagers in Jharnipalli GP revealed that people would like to have this social audit conducted primarily because they wanted to know the exact reasons for which two sarpanches were dismissed. To their zeal came the unflinching support of the local CBO – Gayatri Club that was working with the poor people in that panchayat for a number of years now. Behind their desire stood firmly the CBO-NGO network of CADMB. And to top it all, there was a willing and supportive administration at the district level. For all these factors, Jharnipalli fit well into the [ideal] criteria that ActionAid and MORD were looking for. The people’s organisation in this GP was found capable enough to organise this social audit.

As a first step in the process, a street play [geeti natya] was created by the villagers [of Adendungri and Kudopalli] and the local organisation, informing them about their right to information through social audit and the fact that such an audit is going to be taken up soon in their gram panchayat. Songs were composed for this purpose and performances arranged in all the nine villages of the gram panchayat. The environment building process which started in the month of May continued in phases till 29th October – the day before the actual social audit day on 30th October. Two rounds of awareness programme (street plays) were held in each of the nine villages under Jharnipalli GP to convince the people on social audit. Apart from that periodic visits by small teams from CADMB also helped in further sensitising and mobilising

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the villagers. At the district level, every month in its review meeting CADMB partners reviewed the progress and preparedness in terms of people’s interest and information collection. About a month before the social audit day, a district level coordination team consisting of two members from each of the 18 partner organisation partner organisations was formed. This team was given the responsibility to help the people’s organisation in collection and analysis of information and management of logistics.

At the GP level, four-member Committees were set up in each of the villages for the purpose of the social audit [two members from the women’s SHGs, and two from the Village Drought Action Committee].

Exposure to Devdungri :

A three member team consisting of representatives from local people’s organisation, the local CBO and ActionAid Bolangir field office, went for a one week exposure to the process of right to information campaign spearheaded by the Mazdoor Kishan Sakti Sangha (MKSS) based at Devdungri village in Rajasthan.

Involvement of district administration and Zilla Parishad :

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One of the vital components in a social audit is the cooperation of the local administration. Fortunately, the district had a supportive collector, PD, DRDA and the president, Zilla Parishad. The local administration and the president, Zilla Parishad were appraised about the plans. The District Collector expressed his full support and cooperation to the effort. The local MLA, who wanted similar processes to be taken up in as many gram panchayats as possible in the constituency, reflected the same feelings. At a later date, the local police officials were also informed about the plans for the social audit. The last four weeks preceding the social audit saw the efforts on many fronts intensifying as a run up to the audit.

Information Collection

Soon after the decision taken on social audit, an introduction letter with request for information was circulated to all offices and NGOs working in the GP by the CLC six months before the actual audit. But there was reluctance to provide the information. With the help of the district collector’s introduction letter and instructions, a team of people started collecting information related to various works in the panchayat for the past three years [1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-2001]. Information that was collected included various development works that had been taken up by the block office in Agalpur, and works taken up directly by the Panchayat. Collection of

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various records and getting copies of the same began in earnest in August, it picked up from the first week of October and continued till the very day of the audit-October 30th! Information was collected regarding the following:

JGSY EAS CRF IAY PMGY MLA/MPLAD ICDS PDS (only 2001) Rural Connectivity Programme Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha resolutions GP accounts FFW implemented by NGOs Watershed projects implemented by NGOs Veterinary services

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Information related to PDS, Kendu Leaf, Social Forestry and DPEP was not available because it was refused. Within the records made available, there were gaps – measurement books were not available for engineering works, and utilisation certificates were missing for all the works. Two days before the social audit, a few of these, at the Gram Panchayat level, became available.

Information sorting and filing

All the information and records collected had to be sorted out, and filed, as per the scheme, and finally, village-wise. Each work had a separate file [case record] created, with all papers related to the work put together, and the file cover containing a top sheet with all details. Documents inside usually included sanction letters, resolutions and recommendations of the panchayat, work orders to contractors, forms of undertaking by the contractor, muster rolls in some cases, running account bills in some cases, bills and vouchers in some cases, estimates of the works etc.

Information analysis and re-tabulation

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The next step in the process was to try and analyse the information available in various ways. For instance, muster rolls which come as records of a week’s work, or a fortnight’s work, had to be converted into worker-wise records so that verification with individual workers was possible easily. Similarly, records were studied for violation of norms and guidelines….of minimum and equal wages, of the execution of works by contractors (whereas it is banned by the Ministry’s policy), of breaching of the estimates based on which the sanction was made in the first instance and so on. Another example is trying to convert technical data into information that could be easily triangulated with the villagers [cubic meters of measurement of morram, converted into equivalent number of tractor trips, for instance].

Both the sorting and analysis stages were possible in a short period of time because of the presence of a large number of volunteers and trainees (from CADMB, MKSS and ActionAid) for this social audit – numbering around 40 literate persons on an average, on any given day !!!

Information sharing and field verification

The next stage was to share the collected/analysed information with the villagers. This stage included holding initial large meetings to explain the purpose of the visits, followed by visiting various sites where the works are supposed to have taken place, and meeting with individual

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beneficiaries. There were many instances when large meetings were used to verify muster rolls of various works, and cross-check the bills and vouchers. This was a very sensitive phase, and based on the situation, the visiting teams would either just share the information and allow it to sink in or actually look for validation of the records with reality, in case the villagers were forthcoming and cooperating.

To begin with, there was a pilot exercise held in village Adendungri led by the MKSS activist Nikhil Dey. By this time, the volunteers from various organisations and the villages had been grouped into teams, with team leaders. These teams were expected to stay in the villages, and share, verify and obtain information. All these teams attended the pilot exercise in Adendungri, so that they could learn from the process and take up the same in their respective villages.

After this, starting from the 25th October, the teams went into their respective villages. A ‘roving team’ of three members was formed to oversee and coordinate the village level exercise. The Village stays by the teams meant that some last minute surveys and data collection could be taken up, in addition to triangulating the records with the villagers. Most importantly, the teams tried to focus on the poorest in each of these villages, and assess state

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support available to them in any form, against what they are supposed to get. In that sense, the purpose of the 4-day stay in the villages by the teams was three-fold:

Assess the extent and instances of corruption, by sharing information with the villagers and by physical verification of works

Instill confidence in people to participate actively in the audit process, and to activate the village level committees set up for the purpose

Focus on the poorest in the villages, and assess the support reaching them or not reaching them [social security, PDS, employment and livelihood security etc.]

Confidence-building

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Both the teams staying in the villages and a “roving team” which went from village to village began an intense effort to instill confidence about the process in the gram sabha members. Incidentally, the opportunity was used to dialogue with many panchayat ward members too.

There were usually some very pertinent questions asked by the villagers: “what if no action is taken after the social audit – after we gather enough courage and confidence to point out discrepancies in the social audit meeting and nothing happens afterwards, wouldn’t the culprits of corruption become stronger than ever?”, they would question the teams. Similarly, the villagers would want to know why there is no information or records from the Kendu Leaf Department, when it is such an important source of livelihood for the poor in these villages. When we were un-prepared with re-tabulated muster rolls in the case of earthworks taken up by Gayatri Club in one instance, some of the villagers pointed out that we were being “partial” in our work.

The last three days

Two days before the social audit, the District Collector visited the “camp” where he was appraised about the preparations for the audit on the 30th. The Collector assured all the

The team of volunteers from outside, along with volunteers from the villages worked out of a Soil Conservation campus located in Podhpalli village, about one kilometer from the GP headquarters. This was the “camp”….

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village representatives who had gathered to hear from him, that action would definitely follow the audit, and anyone found guilty will be punished. This helped in instilling a good deal of confidence in all the skeptics.

The collector after sitting with the people for couple of hours went to the panchayat office where he made available all relevant available panchayat records (to the social audit team) – information that was so far unavailable and inaccessible. After himself going through the panchayat records such as the cashbook, the collector found many irregularities on the basis of which he issued a warning to the panchayat secretary and sealed the GP office. This news spread to all the villages and gave further confidence to people who wanted to point out irregularities.

The last three days were hectic….one more round of publicity in the villages was taken up. A jeep equipped with a public address system went into all the villages and invited people to take part in the audit process actively. On the 29th, Jharnipalli village had its regular weekly market. This was used as an opportunity to stage a play, and distribute pamphlets about the audit. Finally, together with the local people’s organisation’s representatives, the MKSS team went into the three most “difficult” villages [these were Chungidadar and Jharnipalli, where the Secretary of the Panchayat hails from, and has many relatives and, Kendumundi, where the

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present Sarpanch resides] and performed their muppet shows. They also encouraged people for greater participation and involvement and discussed the need for the same.

Another team was meanwhile going around the district, and contacting other parts of Orissa, to invite people to the audit. The invitees included the elected representatives of the district and the panchayat, various officials in the district and the state, media representatives, activists and NGOs. By this time, “trainees” from other states had also arrived, and they joined various teams in their efforts.

During this period, an engineer-volunteer also went around to check the physical works that have been claimed in the past three years, and gave his own assessment of the expenditure incurred, and the deviations from plans. A Chartered Accountant went through the accounts of the GP that were available with the team to check the entries as well as to re-arrange the data in a more relevant fashion.

On the 29th, there was a preparatory meeting with all the teams, and the “presenters” from the villages [each team had identified from amongst their villagers, those persons who can present each work, followed by ones who will testify for or against it], and to finalise the schedule for the actual social audit day on the 30th.

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A sequence of presentations was agreed upon, based on strategic reasons of ice-breaking as well as exposing trends of corruption in this panchayat.

The day before the audit was also spent in preparing charts in the local language Oriya, presenting the audit findings. The visual presentations consisted of separate charts on : Gram Panchayat accounts, an overview of all the development works in the GP in the past three years, separate village-wise charts, a chart on all the contractors who got work orders in the past three years, a chart on all the roads claimed to have been laid, a chart on all the “ghost works” discovered in the audit, a chart on the employment generated for the BPL families as per the records, on the Indira Awas Yojana housing in three years, on the Food For Work project taken up by a local NGO Palli Niketan with support from CARE-ORISSA, on the watershed work taken up by Sabuja Biplav in two villages, on Gayatri Club’s work in all the villages of the panchayat, on ActionAid India’s work in Bolangir district, and some photographs displaying the status of works claimed in the records. Efforts were made to present information in a simplified and intelligible manner.

All these processes, including the actual day of the audit, were captured both on video and through photographs.

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Fortunately, the opportunity of taking up the social audit as per the desire of the local organisations and under the aegis of the action-trainings of the MORD worked out well and a social audit was conducted by the gram sabha members of Jharnipalli panchayat on October 30th, 2001, for developmental works undertaken in the past three years.

This audit took place with the active participation of many individuals and agencies : gram sabha members, the gram panchayat members and officials, the block officials of Agalpur and district administration of Bolangir, respectively, the CADMB members, CDAC, the village drought action committees (VDAC), MKSS (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan) & NCPRI (National Campaign for People’s Right to Information), NGOs working in other pats of the state and ActionAid India.

The audit process meant intense efforts not just to collect, analyse, and verify data for any corruption, but to get affected people to speak up and testify against the powerful in the villages, engaging in this corruption. Trust and confidence had to be built with these poor people, mostly dalits and women, to come out into the open, and state the facts as they are in reality, and not as claimed in the records. A momentum had to be built up to this effect, especially in the last one-month or so, of the process.

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3. The actual social audit day:

The social audit formally began at around 10.00 am on the 30th October 2001. Around 2500 people mostly belonging to the villages under Jharnipalli GP and other parts of Bolangir had gathered to witness and participate in the first opportunity of making people on power accountable to their actions. With initial tempo-building group songs by CLC (local people’s organisation) and MKSS members, the stage was set for the unfolding of the audit process. As per the plan, people were first allowed to read all the visual presentations put out. Many people [other than the media] could be seen walking around taking down notes of the information. Some of the villagers asked for clarifications on information pertaining to their village, and the records were checked again.

The day began by a formal welcome to all the panelists and the participants by the Convenor of CADMB, and the Vice President of Gayatri Club. The Country Director of AAI gave an introduction to the social audit, and the powers vested with the gram sabha for the same. This was followed by the President of CDAC running everyone through the months of

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preparation for the Jharnipalli social audit including the germination of the idea, and by laying down the ground rules for the day.

From then onwards, a team of four “programme controllers” [nomenclature given by the villagers on the earlier day!] took over the role of facilitating the proceedings. As the day progressed, it became clearer that these anchors had an important role to play and that in this case, the selection of the facilitators was very good. They were able to draw people out and attempted to engage many people in the process.

The team leaders from all the villages coordinated with their village presenters and made presentations about each work as per the records. This was followed by testimonies from other villagers. The panelists spoke and raised questions now and then. There were questions posed by the media section also.

It was decided the earlier day that village-wise presentations may be unwise – while one village’s audit findings are presented, the others might not be interested, and it is also unfair to the last village that gets discussed during the day, to wait for hours for their turn! Instead, work-wise/issue-wise presentations were preferred.

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The sequence of presentations was like this:

1. Road works – Adendungri, Patharmunda, Amjharan, Podhpalli, Jharnipalli, Pandkital, Kendumundi, Kudopalli – major works, with muster rolls also read out, followed by testimonies

2. Smaller road works – a brief introduction of the work, and getting testimonies from groups of villagers collectively, in a rapid manner

3. Gayatri Club – presentation by a CLC member, and cross examination by villagers4. CARE Food For Work programme in four villages [Amjharan, Pandkital, Kudopalli and

Adendungri]5. Construction works – Adendungri school building, Jharnipalli AWC building, Jharnipalli CC;

Indira Awas Yojana in Adendungri and Patharmunda6. Anganwadi-related issues – Jharnipalli and Patharmunda villages7. PDS – several case studies presented8. Panchayat accounts for three years – presentation and clarifications9. Demands put forward by the villagers, emerging from the social audit10. Response to these by the ZP Chairperson and the District Collector11. Ms Aruna Roy’s address to the participants and her observations

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Many other works that were supposed to be shared had to be dropped from the programme because of the paucity of time.

The questioning, and the issues raised were very pertinent: insights into the ineffectual and non-functioning of the panchayat, the gram sabha and the palli sabha were highlighted. Does this panchayat have meetings at all, people were left wondering. The opaque fashion of functioning was obvious.

The failure of the local bureaucracy to monitor and check the possibilities of corruption was also brought out. There were many instances when they were in collusion [the junior engineer had certified many ghost works through his measurement books, for example, with the BDO certifying them too].

The Secretary of the GP was called to the mike in some cases to elaborate on a particular issue. For instance, it was discovered that all the ghost works had something in common – they had all claimed to have used the same tractor [and its driver] for transporting materials into various villages….the same vehicle number, the same village, the same driver who signed on receipts. One of the gram sabha members demanded that it be revealed who this person All those works which are claimed on record, but which are not executed at all!

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was – and went ahead to inform everyone that this is the Secretary’s own tractor ! Subsequently, it was also revealed that the tractor did not exist with the Secretary for all the three years, though it appears consistently on the records! There were many muster rolls read out where false names were recorded of people who have migrated out of the village years back ! Of people who feel insulted to find their names‘ on lowly works like road-laying’, and have never taken part in the work ! Of elderly people who are incapable of working anymore ! There were muster rolls where the amounts recorded were higher than the amounts actually paid to the labourers!

There were also instances when the panelists and facilitators drew a blank response from the villagers – this happened especially in the case of Jharnipalli works. The presence of some powerful people from the village silenced many others. There were some stalemates too – an entire village got split vertically into two groups, which presented contradictory testimonies with regard to a road work [Jharnipalli]. There were instances when the local organisation Gayatri Club was targeted by the villagers, both by the ones who genuinely wanted to raise issues related to its functioning, and also by people who saw it as the weakest link in the entire process. On the positive side, it meant that the villagers get into the habit of questioning critically all development works in their village – whether taken up by government agencies or non-governmental agencies.

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The Silver Lining :

It was heartening to see many dalits in the villages coming forward to speak, and better yet, women willing to testify. In one instance, when an entire village kept quiet out of fear [of the Secretary and a couple of powerful contractors in the village], it was two dalit women from the village, who came out with the truth very boldly. Here, it has to be pointed out that women were not actively drawn out to participate during the first quarter of the audit – the reason was simple – they were invisible, and seated far from the “dias”. Until somebody pointed out that the facilitators need to address the women too, they were ignored ! Once they were encouraged to start speaking, they were bolder than the men in pointing out various problems.

The culture of silence definitely got broken on that dramatic day!

Towards the end, both the Zilla Parishad Chairperson and the District Collector promised the gram sabha members that action would be taken against everyone found guilty of corruption and criminal offences in the panchayat.

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4. Findings of the audit:

The following is a list findings :

Ghost works – 36 ghost works were discovered from amongst the records available for the social audit, worth a sanction of Rs 111,000/- mostly for road works and ‘cross bund’. These works did not happen at all, but money sanctioned and claimed on the records.

Contractors – In spite of the GOI ban on the use of contractors for execution of works, there were 31 contractors discovered in the social audit, including contractors for Indira Awas Yojana, who claimed expenditure worth 15 lakhs of rupees. These contractors are engaged as “Community Leaders” in the records!

Fake Muster rolls – In many cases where the work order has been given to a contractor, muster rolls were not available with the case records. Where they were available and verified, it was found that there were many ways of tampering with muster rolls…wage rates were recorded higher than the rates actually paid; false names were registered; false signatures and thumb impressions were made up in the records; more days of work were claimed than the actual employment generated….

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Underpaid workers - The labourers worked in different activities were paid less than the amount mentioned in the muster rolls, which is even less than their minimum wages.

False bill – False bills on purchase of materials and transports were found from most of the records. A bill was found in the name of a particular tractor driver with a tractor number who has taken around one lakh rupees apparently for dumping road materials. It was later known that the tractor did not exist in the GP. The Secretary, however, tried to clarify it that the tractor was there and has since been sold.

Purchase over billing – For instance pay for and use 50 bags of cement and get a bill of 100 bags from the supplier and claim the same. Such a bill was found in Adendunguri where the bill contains 300 bags of cement used in the school building but people have kept the records of 225 bags actually used; an apparent corruption of Rs11000.

Employment – Though the government has a policy of creating atleast 100 days of employment through its employment generation programmes (EAS) for all BPL families in the drought areas, the analysis of records available [of all the works for which muster rolls

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were available] showed 12 ½ days of employment on an average for each BPL family in the panchayat for a period of three years.

PDS issues – Though the overall picture on PDS in the panchayat could not be arrived at, due to paucity of information as well as time, the social audit presented three distinct dimensions in relation to this service: [I] many deserving families do not have BPL cards and cannot avail of this facility; [ii] those who do have BPL cards often do not have the purchasing capacity to buy materials due to them on their card and this stock either goes back to the godowns or is diverted into the black market [unfortunately, one could not get a picture of what happens at the GP level, since the data related to allotments, incoming stocks and distribution was not available for comparison]; [iii] corruption detected in cases where there were wrong recordings on the PDS cards/distribution books, whereas the quantities actually sold were different. Villagers, especially BPL card-holders pointed out (during the village analysis process) that the secretary had about 150 BPL cards mortgaged to him. This, however, could not be proved as no BPL card was found either from the panchayat office or the house of the secretary.

Anganwadi – In the case of Anganwadi programme too, overall picture was not available with regard to the stocks coming in, to be compared with the distribution records or actual

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receipts by people. One important issue did emerge though: while the stock comes measured in weights, it is distributed in volumes [special measures in the local area called adas], which are lesser in quantity [one kilo is converted into a volume of just 800-900 gms during distribution]. The actual extent of corruption could not be established though. The other issue with regard to anganwadis is the arbitrary selection of ‘beneficiaries’ by the AWC worker, to fulfill the target number of people. It was found that the poorest got excluded due to the worker’s favour for the well off.

Incomplete Indira Awas Yojana – The Indira Awas in every village were found either incomplete or not paid the total amount to the beneficiary even after the completion.

NGOs and their works - In a state like Orissa, where NGOs are a common entity in the lives of poor people, this social audit covered the works of three organisations in detail: Palli Niketan, Sabuja Biplav and Gayatri Club. Unfortunately, records were obtained not from the NGOs, but from the people’s committees in the villages in two cases. Some discrepancies were also discovered. This is a good beginning in making the NGOs accountable to the people, for their development works.

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5. The demands that were put forward:

A set of demands were put forward by the gram sabha members of Jharnipalli panchayat, after the social audit. These were:

the District Collector to set up an enquiry committee, which should give its report in the shortest period possible

Recoveries to be made from the guilty, and criminal proceedings initiated against them From now on, all records should be kept open for the people Records of all departments, including the forestry departments should be made available to

the people Information boards should be put up outside the concerned offices A similar audit to be taken up each year A permanent solution to be evolved for tackling hunger and starvation issues in the village Social Audit process should be applicable to all GPs in the district including the NGOs

working in the area

6. The strengths in this case:

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An empowered people’s organisation: The Cluster Level Committee (CLC) of the people, facilitated by Gayatri Club in the GP was empowered enough to take up this audit. The members have put lots of effort in making it successful.

The District Administration : Where it has taken years for information to be collected for a social audit in other places, thanks to a supportive district administration in Bolangir, information collection was easier. Various district and block level officials cooperated with us, and provided us with records. The Collector also stepped in at a crucial stage just before the audit, to instill confidence in the people about the audit process.

MKSS experience : Years of invaluable experience gained by MKSS in their struggle for the right to information proved to be very helpful in this social audit. MKSS volunteers spent nearly two weeks prior to the audit, providing quality time and guidance for the audit, in the field.

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The support of a large network : The presence of 19 NGOs/CBOs in the form of CADMB and their people’s organizations from all over the district of Bolangir lent a great deal of support to the villagers of Jharnipalli.

ActionAid’s field presence : Field presence of ActionAid in Bolangir also contributed in adding strength to the people who took up this challenge.

The ongoing fight against corruption : One could come across the presence of a large number of ‘volunteers’ from the villages of Jharnipalli, who were raising issues of corruption in the GP for several years now. They took part in this process very actively, and found it a good opportunity to raise issues that concerned them.

The location of the village : By virtue of being located in one of the “KBK” districts of Orissa, this panchayat and its social audit also provided an opportunity to link up the process to larger advocacy agendas centred around food and livelihood security. The fact that there is inadequate resource allocation for development works in the area, and that even the meager sums that come in end up in the hands of contractors, was apparent to see after the social audit. Failure of the government on many fronts like employment generation, social security, food security came to the fore.

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The panchayat’s decision to formally notify the gram sabha for a social audit strengthened the process.

A large team of volunteers working in a camp mode within the GP limits, and being accessible at all points of time to the villagers was also an advantage. So was the presence of the volunteers’ teams in the villages during the last five days of the process. The villagers were free to come and check the records anytime during this period, and would also drop by to inform us about the latest dynamics unfolding the village…

Women participation : Large number of women from all villages have participated in this audit actively despite of the pressure from many sides. The women from Jharnipalli could able to prove the corruption on the audit day which no male person dare to speak the truth.

7. Total estimated corruption :

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Including the ghost work of Rs. 1,11,000/, Rs. 1,00,000/ of reportedly false tractor use and Rs.11,000/ of extra cement use, the village analysis of all the records have estimated in monetary terms misappropriation of about Rs. 11,00,000/ (not confirmed) out of a total investment of 27.75 lakhs in the panchayat in last three years.

7. The problems along the way

A mysterious incident which caused misunderstandings and anxiety:

Just one day after the “camp” started in Podhpalli on the 16th of October, Mr Jayaram Bariha accused the panchayat secretary and peon of attempting to poison him, whereas the secretary retorted back by saying that Jayaram was drunk at that time and was making false allegations. The truth of the matter is not known to anyone since conflicting reports were received by the others in the camp, but this incident definitely turned out to be an unwanted one – there were demands in the villages that the secretary’s name be cleared from this accusation first. The entire team of volunteers and others [including the district administration] were anxious about the whereabouts and safety of Jayaram on the night of the incident and this slowed down the process for a few days.

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Constant threats to the local people’s organisation :

The episode involving Jairam and the panchayat secretary was as much speculative as it was mysterious. Constant threats were pouring in from the secretary and his relatives to the members of the local people’s organisation (CLC) throughout the social audit process. When things were becoming clear that there was discrepancy in the works implemented, threats to life were also issued from time to time. On insistence of the people to make panchayat records available, the secretary once reportedly issued a statement saying “ since many of the works have actually not been implemented how can I give records; let there be a murder, but I will not provide the records. Secretary’s dithering on making records available until the collector issued him instructions speaks a lot in this connection. On the morning of the ‘fateful’ day when Jairam was to accompany the secretary for photocopying of the panchayat records, the brother-in-law of the secretary was reported to have said to Bariha ‘I shall remove your entire

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denture if you keep on insisting on the records and do anything silly against my brother-in-law’.

The block office records burnt down:

In the course of a dharna organised by a political party a couple of weeks before the social audit, the block office was set on fire by a violent mob and several records, relating mainly to education and agriculture, burnt down. As a consequence, many records could not be obtained by the social audit team – whether the information was available or not, this became the stated justification for the block authorities to deny additional information.

The secretary goes missing:

About a week before the audit, the secretary of the panchayat went missing! Nobody knew his whereabouts, nor were forthcoming with any information if they knew about it. His presence and cooperation were crucial for the team to obtain some more information at the GP level. The records were inside the GP Office and the secretary had the key of the locked office with him, and was untraceable! Precious time was lost due to this and the remaining information

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reached too late because of this. It was only the visit of the Collector to the Camp on the 27 th, which made him re-surface.

The ‘warnings’ issued:

There were reports from two villages that warnings were issued to the villagers against testifying on the day of the audit, and in one village, a penalty of rupees hundred on anyone speaking in the meeting was announced. The real truth is not known, but some village(rs) were visibly silent than others in their participation.

The organisers and the demand for transparency on their behalf:

For many of the people opposing the social audit [the panchayat officials, the local contractors and others] Gayatri Club [the CBO which works in the panchayat], was a strategic point to hit.

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There were many questions raised about GC’s own style of functioning, about its functionaries, about its funding, and about its failed promises and so on. Villagers went into the history of the organisation and pointed out several discrepancies from the past and questioned the legitimacy of the organisation in holding a social audit.

All of this reinforces the belief that such social audits are best taken up by organisations willing to be transparent and participatory in their functioning, and willing to face up to the legitimate questioning by the community. Gayatri Club was bold enough to face it.

Date fixed before laying hand on all records :

One major disadvantage in this social audit was the fact that the date for the audit was fixed before records from all the agencies and on all the implemented works were available. This put tremendous pressure on the pace of work and also meant that the audit day dawned on time even though all required information was not available. Strategically, it would have made sense to complete information collection and analysis first and based on this groundwork, to fix the date at a convenient time.

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The timing of the audit was also important. It happened during a festival period and this posed problems both with the volunteers and the community members as a number of government officials and institutions went on holidaying too.

Knowing what one is collecting [information]:

One other gap in the Jharnipalli audit was that the set of people collecting the information and getting copies of the same, did not always know what they were collecting and why? This meant that they could not identify during the information collection phase what else was missing. It was only around the 17th of October that with the help of MKSS activists that the data collected was sorted and gaps identified. As a capacity building process, this has definitely equipped many people now in trying to understand the records and decipher the information in a commonly understood form.

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Information on certain crucial issues and departments not available:

This audit being in Bolangir, issues like PDS, Kendu Leaf etc., become very important, but unfortunately, information about these was either incomplete, or completely unavailable.

8. The follow - up :

Situation became slightly tense after the audit. Threats were issued again to the local organisation and to the local people’s organisation. The members of CADMB including field office staff of ActionAid kept visiting the villages after the social audit to assess the social/political tension around.

The district collector instructed a special audit of the Jharnipalli panchayat by the district panchayat auditor.

The secretary of the panchayat has been issued suspension notice with a recovery from him of Rs. 68,000.

FIR and criminal proceedings against the secretary are being processed by the district administration.

Exposures of people’s organisations and NGO representatives from different parts of the state took place.

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The Epilogue :

As it is, the Jharnipalli case was a social audit ‘on test’, a pilot. Thus the main aim was learning from the experience. With the questions that this pilot has thrown up, the meeting showed how powerful a tool this social audit can be. The process is fairly simple, but political will a major precondition: essentially it is about opening the records of projects to the intended beneficiaries, unearthing corruption. As some MKSS people commented, as Orissa is a state that does have resources, this is even more necessary than in Rajasthan.

Right to information and the instruments to realise this, is an essential element of well-functioning local democracy. But the pilot also indicated the challenges that come with this, regarding local capacity to carry this labour-intensive process and possibilities of backlash. The relative lack of participation in the meeting of people from the poor and marginalised sections was only to be speculated; in any case, lack of political awareness and marginalisation of specific groups are issues that need to be addressed to make such processes successful – where it is most needed, most commitment and investments may be needed.

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ANNEXURE VII

THE NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT 2005: THE BASIC FEATURES

This annexure discusses the basic features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, hereafter NREGA 2005 or “Employment Guarantee Act” for short. The relevant sections of the Act are mentioned in square brackets.

A. GENERAL QUESTIONS

1 What is the basic idea of an Employment Guarantee Act?

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The idea is to give a legal guarantee of employment to anyone who is willing to do casual manual labour at the statutory minimum wage. Any adult who applies for work under the Act is entitled to being employed on public works without delay. Thus, an Employment Guarantee Act provides a universal and enforceable legal right to the most basic form of employment. It is a step towards legal enforcement of the right to work, as an aspect of the fundamental right to live with dignity.

2 What are the potential benefits of an Employment Guarantee Act?

There are many. To start with, an effective Employment Guarantee Act (EGA) would help to protect rural households from poverty and hunger. In fact, a “full-fledged” EGA (with an unlimited individual guarantee of work, not restricted to “100 days per households per year”) would enable most poor households in rural India to cross the poverty line. Secondly, it would lead to a dramatic reduction of rural-urban migration: if work is available in the village, many families will stay in place instead of heading for the cities. Thirdly, guaranteed employment can be a major source of empowerment for women. Based on past experience, women are likely to account for a large proportion of labourers employed under the Act, and guaranteed employment will give them some economic independence. Fourthly, the Employment Guarantee Act is an opportunity to create useful assets in rural areas. Fifthly, guaranteed employment is likely to change power equations in the rural society, and to foster a more equitable social order.

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Last but not least, the Employment Guarantee Act is a means of strengthening the bargaining power of unorganized workers. This, in turn, could help them to struggle for other important entitlements, such as minimum wages and social security. The process of mobilising for effective implementation of the Act also has much value in itself. It is a unique opportunity for “unorganised workers” to organise, which could give a new lease a life to the labour movement in large parts of India.

3 Who is entitled to work under the Employment Guarantee Act?

The work guarantee is a “universal” entitlement - any adult is entitled to apply. The Act is based on the principle of self-selection: anyone who is willing to do unskilled manual labour at the minimum wage is presumed to be in need of public support, and must be provided employment on demand. If anyone tells you that the work guarantee is only for households with a “BPL card”, do not believe it!

4 Is there a limit on the number of days of guaranteed employment over the year?

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Yes. As mentioned earlier, the employment guarantee is restricted to "100 days per household per year". Note that “year” here refers to the financial year, which starts on 1 April. In other words, on 1 April each household gets a new “quota” of 100 days for the next twelve months. Note that the quota of 100 days can be “shared” between adult members of the household: different persons can work on different days, or even on the same day, as long as their combined days of employment do not exceed 100 days in the financial year.

B. THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME

The Employment Guarantee Act directs every State Government to prepare an Employment Guarantee Scheme within six months, in order to implement the work guarantee.

5 What kinds of work can be taken up under the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

Schedule I of the Act lists eight categories of works that are supposed to be “the focus of the Scheme”. Briefly, these include (1) “water conservation and water harvesting”; (2) “drought proofing” (including afforestation); (3) “irrigation canals including micro and minor irrigation works”; (4) “provision of irrigation facility” to land owned by households belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, beneficiaries of land reforms, or beneficiaries of Indira Awas Yojana; (5) “renovation of traditional water

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bodies” including desilting of tanks; (6) “land development”; (7) “flood control and protection works” including drainage in water logged areas; and (8) “rural connectivity to provide all-weather access”. In addition, there is a residual ninth category: “any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government”.

This list is quite restrictive, and in this respect NREGA 2005 contrasts sharply with the “citizens’ draft”, where permissible works were broadly defined as works that contribute (directly or indirectly) to “the increase of production, the creation of durable assets, the preservation of the environment, or the improvement of the quality of life”. Short of modifying Schedule I, the only way of expanding the list of permissible works within the framework of the Act is to add further works under the residual category.

The Act also states that a list of “preferred works”, to be taken up on a priority basis, is to be drawn by the State Employment Guarantee Council. The preferred works are to be identified “based on their ability to create durable assets”, and may differ between different areas.

6 Can works under EGS be taken up in urban areas?

In principle, no. The Act states that “the works taken up under the Scheme shall be in rural areas” [Schedule I, Para 3].

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7 Are there any other important restrictions on EGS works?

“New works” can be initiated only if (1) at least fifty labourers become available for such work, and (2) the labourers cannot be absorbed in the ongoing works. However, this restriction can be waived by the State Government “in hilly areas and in respect of afforestation”. [Schedule II, Para 13]

8 Who will be responsible for implementing the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

The Employment Guarantee Scheme will be implemented by the State Government, with funding from the Central Government. According to Section 13, the “principal authorities” for planning and implementation of the Scheme are the Panchayats at the District, Intermediate and village levels. However, the division of responsibilities between different authorities is actually quite complex, as we shall see further on.

The basic unit of implementation is the Block. In each Block, a “Programme Officer” will be in charge. The Programme Officer is supposed to be an officer of rank no less than the Block Development Officer (BDO), paid by the Central Government, and with the implementation of EGS as his or her sole responsibility. The Programme Officer is accountable to the “Intermediate Panchayat” as well as to the District Coordinator. We shall return to this in Section E, after discussing the entitlements of the labourers under EGS.

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C. WORKERS' ENTITLEMENTS

9 How are labourers expected to apply for work under the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

It is basically a “two-step” procedure. The first step is to “register” with the Gram Panchayat. The second step is to apply for work. Registration is required only once every five years, but applications for work have to be submitted each time work is required.

The main purpose of the registration process is to facilitate advance planning of works. If a household applies for registration, it is the duty of the Gram Panchayat to register it and issue a "job card". The job card will ensure that labourers are in possession of a written record of the number of days they have worked, wages paid, unemployment allowances received, and so on, instead of depending on government officials for this purpose. A job card is supposed to be valid for five years at least.

Applications for work may be submitted at any time, either through the Gram Panchayat or directly to the Programme Officer. Both have a duty to accept valid applications and to issue a dated receipt to the applicant [Schedule II, Para 10]. Applications must be for at least 14 days of continuous work [Schedule II, Para 7]. The Act provides for group applications, advance applications, and multiple applications over time

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[Schedule II, Paras 10, 18 and 19]. Applicants are supposed to be told where and when to report for work within 15 days, by means of a letter as well as of a public notice displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and at the office of the Programme Officer [Schedule II, Paras 11 and 22].

Note that the unit of registration is the “household”, while applications for work are individual applications.

10 How is a “household” defined in the Act?

The Act defines a household as “the members of a family related to each other by blood, marriage or adoption and normally residing together and sharing meals or holding a common ration card” [Section 2(f)]. The problem with this definition is that members of a “joint family” who live together and share a ration card may be treated as a single household, even if the household is quite large. This will be unfair to large households, because they will be entitled to the same 100 days of work per year as small households, even if their needs are much larger. Ideally, every nuclear family should be considered as a separate household.

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11 How much are labourers going to be paid under the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

Labourers are entitled to the statutory minimum wage applicable to agricultural workers in the State, unless the Central Government “overrides” this by notifying a different wage rate. If the Central Government notifies a wage rate, it is subject to a minimum of Rs 60 per day. [Section 6]

12 What will be the mode of payment – daily wages or piece rates?

Both are permitted under the Act. In both cases, the minimum wage defined in Section 6 applies. If wages are paid on a piece-rate basis, the schedule of rates has to be such that a person working for seven hours would normally earn the minimum wage. [Schedule I, Paras 6 to 8]

13 Will wages be paid in cash or in kind?

Wages may be paid in cash or in kind or both. Payment in kind would usually mean part payment in foodgrain. The cash component has to account for at least 25 per cent of the total wage. [Schedule II, Para 31]

14 What about the regularity of wage payments?

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Wages are to be paid every week, or in any case “not later than a fortnight after the date on which such work was done” [Section 3(3)]. Further the State Government “may prescribe” that a proportion of the wages in cash should be paid on a daily basis [Schedule II, Para 32].

15 What if wages are not paid on time?

In such cases, labourers are entitled to compensation as per the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act 1936 [Schedule II, Para 30].

16 Can different wages be paid to men and women?

Certainly not. Men and women are entitled to the same wages. In fact, any form of gender discrimination is prohibited. [Schedule II, Para 34]

17 Are labourers entitled to any specific facilities at the worksite?

Yes. The following facilities are supposed to be available at the worksite: “safe drinking water, shade for children and periods of rest, first-aid box with adequate material for emergency treatment for minor injuries

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and other health hazards connected with the work” [Schedule II, Para 27]. This is not very much, but even these basic facilities are often missing at the worksites – it is important to insist that they should be in place.

18 What about facilities for the care of young children?

The Act states that “in case the number of children below the age of six years accompanying the women working at any site are five or more, provisions shall be made to depute one of such women workers to look after such children” [Schedule II, Para 28]. Further, the person who is deputed to look after young children is entitled to the same minimum wage as other labourers [Schedule II, Para 28].

19 Where will the work be provided?

“As far as possible”, work must be provided within 5 km of the applicant’s residence. If it is provided beyond that radius, work must be provided within the Block, and workers must be paid daily transport and living allowances equivalent to 10 per cent of the wage rate. [Schedule II, Paras 12 and 14]

20 Is there any provision in the Act for the employment of persons with disabilities?

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No. The “citizens’ draft” included a special clause on this, but it was removed in the final version of the Act. However, it may be possible to reinstate special provisions for disabled persons under the “Rules” of the Employment Guarantee Scheme, to be framed by the State Government. Such provisions might include, for instance: (1) recording of any disabilities at the time of registration; (2) provision of special work opportunities to persons with disabilities; (3) mandatory provision of special employment facilities to households where no-one is able to take up ordinary employment opportunities due to disability or related reasons (e.g. need to take care of a disabled person); and (4) ear-marking of 3% of the EGS funds for employing persons with disabilities. Note that the last suggestion is based on the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, which states that “the appropriate Governments and local authorities shall reserve not less than three per cent in all poverty alleviation schemes for the benefit of persons with disabilities.”

21 What happens if there is an accident at an EGS worksite?

If a labourer is injured “by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment” under the Employment Guarantee Scheme, he or she is entitled to “such medical treatment as is admissible under the Scheme”, free of charge. If hospitalisation is required, he or she is entitled to accommodation, treatment, medicines and a daily allowance “not less than half the wage rate”. There are similar provisions for children who may be accompanying labourers employed under the Scheme. In case of death or permanent

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disability, an ex gratia payment of Rs 25,000 (“or such amount as may be specified by the Central Government”) is to be paid to the victim or his or her family. [Schedule II, Paras 24, 25, 26 and 33]

22 Can labourers exercise any choice regarding the type of work that is given to them?

No. They have to accept whatever employment is given to them by the Gram Panchayat or Programme Officer [Schedule I, Para 10]. At best, they have some indirect say in the matter in so far as they participate in the process of planning the works, through Gram Sabhas and other means (see Section E below).

23 What happens if someone applies for work but does not report for work when employment is provided?

If an applicant fails to report for work within 15 days of being informed that work is available, he or she stands debarred from receiving the unemployment allowance for a period of three months.

C. UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE

24 Who is entitled to an unemployment allowance under the Employment Guarantee Act?

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Anyone who has not been provided with work within 15 days of applying (or within 15 days of the date for which employment is sought, in the case of "advance applications"). [Section 7(1)]

25 In such circumstances, is the State Government obliged to pay the unemployment allowance?

This is certainly the intention. In the “citizens’ draft”, the payment of the unemployment allowance was mandatory. However, NREGA 2005 is a little ambiguous on this. Section 7(1) suggests that labourers who have not been provided with work have an unconditional right to the unemployment allowance. However, Section 7(2) suggests that the payment of the allowance is “subject to such terms and conditions of eligibility as may be prescribed by the State Government and subject to the provisions of this Act and the Schemes and the economic capacity of the State Government”. It is important to insist on the payment of the unemployment allowance in all cases where labourers have not been provided with work.

26 What is the role of the unemployment allowance?

The unemployment allowance has several roles. First, it provides a limited form of unemployment assistance to those who are waiting for work. Second, it provides a clear “signal” that the responsible authorities are failing to provide employment to all applicants. Third, it acts as a “penalty” on the State

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Government for this failure, since the payment of unemployment allowances is the responsibility of the State Government.

This penalty creates a strong incentive for the State Government to provide work. This is because employment costs are borne overwhelmingly by the Central Government, while the unemployment allowance is paid by the State Government. Therefore, State Governments can “save money” by providing employment instead of paying the allowance. However, for this incentive to work, the unemployment allowance must be actually paid, and not remain “on paper” as has happened in Maharashtra (where the unemployment allowance has never been paid). This is why the actual payment of the unemployment allowance is so important.

27 What is the level of the unemployment allowance?

The unemployment allowance is to be fixed by the State Government. However, it must be “no less than one-fourth of the wage rate” for the first thirty days, and “not less than one-half of the wage rate” after that. [Section 7(2)]

28 What is the time frame for the payment of the unemployment allowance?

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The unemployment allowance is to be paid “not later than fifteen days from the date on which it became due for payment” [Section 7(5)].

29 When does someone who is receiving the unemployment allowance cease to be eligible for it?

The payment of the unemployment allowance can be discontinued in the following circumstances: (1) the recipient has been directed to report for work by the Gram Panchayat or the Programme Officer; (2) the period for which employment is sought has come to an end; (3) the recipient’s household has exhausted its “quota” of 100 days of work (within the financial year); (4) the household has earned as much as the wages of one hundred days of work, from the unemployment allowance and wage employment combined, within the financial year. [Section 7(3)]

E. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING AUTHORITIES

Note: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 is a complex plot with many actors. The main actors are: the State Council, the District Coordinator, the Programme Officer, the Intermediate Panchayat, the Gram Panchayat and the Gram Sabha, aside from “implementing agencies” other than the Panchayats.

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There is an elaborate division of responsibilities between these different authorities, and the details are not always clear from the Act. An attempt is made below to present a simplified account of the facts.

30 What are the responsibilities of the "Programme Officer" in the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

The Programme Officer essentially acts as a “coordinator” for the Employment Guarantee Scheme at the Block level. Remember, the Block is the basic unit of implementation. Within the Block, two separate processes take place simultaneously. On one side, people are applying for work through the Gram Panchayat, or directly to the Programme Officer – in both cases the applications eventually reach his or her office. On the other side, proposals for works to be taken up under EGS (“projects” for short) are being prepared by the “implementing agencies”: the Intermediate Panchayat, the Gram Panchayats, line departments, NGOs, and so on. The Programme Officer stands at the intersection of these two processes: he or she receives the applications for work as well as the project proposals, and is supposed to “match” the two. This involves sanctioning projects in such a way that all those who have applied for work can be employed within 15 days.

Aside from this “planning” role, the Programme Officer has a “monitoring” role. He or she is supposed to monitor the implementation of the works sanctioned, ensure that wages are paid on time, deal with any

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complaints that may arise, enforce all the transparency provisions, and so on. The list of responsibilities is quite long and hard to summarise – the main duties of the Programme Officer are listed in Box 1.

Ultimately, the chief responsibility of the Programme Officer is to ensure that anyone who applies for work gets employment within 15 days, or in other words, to safeguard the basic entitlement of labourers under the Act. When this is not possible, he or she has to sanction and disburse the unemployment allowance, and explain in his or her annual report why employment could not be provided. The Programme Officer is accountable to the Intermediate Panchayat and the District Coordinator.

31 Can you clarify what is meant by “implementing agencies”?

Implementing agencies include any agency that is “authorized by the Central Government or the State Government to undertake the implementation of any work” taken up under EGS [Section 2(g)]. The main implementing agencies are the Gram Panchayats: at least 50 per cent of the works (in terms of share of the EGS funds) have to be implemented through the Gram Panchayats [Section 16(5)]. Other implementing agencies include the Intermediate Panchayats, the District Panchayats, and “line departments” such as the Public Works Department, the Forest Department, the Irrigation Department, and so on. The Employment Guarantee Act also allows NGOs to act as implementing agencies.

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32 Can private contractors act as implementing agencies?

No. The Act clearly states: “The [Employment Guarantee] Scheme shall not permit engaging any contractor for implementation of the projects under it” [Schedule I, Para 11]. In short, contractors are banned.

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MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES OF VARIOUS ACTORS AT THE BLOCK LEVEL

A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BLOCK OFFICER

1.Ensure that every applicant is provided unskilled manual work in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme within fifteen days.

2.Prepare a plan for the Block by consolidating the project proposals prepared by the Gram Panchayats and other implementing agencies.

3.Match the demand for employment with the employment opportunities available in the Block.

4.Receive applications for work and issue a dated receipt to the applicant. (This responsibility is shared with the Gram Panchayat.)

5.Notify applicants to report for work. (This responsibility is

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also shared with the Gram Panchayat.)6.Ensure prompt and fair payment of wages to all labourers

employed under EGS.7.Sanction and disburse the unemployment allowance. 8.Sanction projects to be taken up by the Gram Panchayats.9.Monitor the projects taken up by the Gram Panchayats

and other implementing agencies within the Block.10. Keep a copy of the muster rolls available for inspection

“by any person interested”.11. Ensure that regular social audits of all works are carried

out by the Gram Sabha.12. Deal promptly (within seven days) with any

complaint that may arise in connection with the implementation of the Scheme.

13. Prepare an annual report on the implementation of EGS in the Block.

14. Assist the “Intermediate Panchayat” in discharging its functions under this Act.

15. Any other work that may be assigned to the Programme

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Officer by the District Programme Coordinator or the State Government.

Note: “All or any” of the functions of the Programme Office can be delegated to the Gram Panchayat by the

BOX 1 (CONT’D)

B. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INTERMEDIATE PANCHAYAT

1.Send “proposals” of works to be taken up under EGS to the Programme Officer.

2. Implement projects that have been sanctioned by the Programme Officer.

3.Approve the Block Plan and forward it to the District Panchayat for final approval.

4.Supervise and monitor the projects taken up at the Gram Panchayat and Block level.

5.Any other duties that may be assigned to the Intermediate

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Panchayat by the State Council.

C. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GRAM PANCHAYAT

1.Prepare a development plan and maintain a shelf of possible works to be taken up under the Scheme, taking into account the recommendations of the Gram Sabha.

2.“Register” those who are willing to work under EGS and issue a job card to them.

3.Receive applications for work and issue a dated receipt to the applicant.

4.Allocate work opportunities among the applicants and ask them to report for work.

5.Display a list of persons who are being provided with work on its notice board.

6. Implement works that have been sanctioned by the Programme Officer.

7.Make all relevant documents available to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of social audits.

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8.Keep a copy of the muster rolls available for public scrutiny at the Panchayat office.

9.Prepare an annual report on the implementation of the Scheme.

D. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GRAM SABHA

1.Recommend “projects” to the Gram Panchayat and make recommendations to the GP for the “development plan” and “shelf of possible works”.

2.Monitor the execution of works within the Gram Panchayat. 3.Conduct regular social audits of all the projects taken up within

the Gram Panchayat.

33 What is the role of the Gram Panchayat in the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

To start with, the Gram Panchayat has to process applications for “registration” and employment. This involves registering potential workers, issuing job cards to them, receiving their applications for work,

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forwarding these to the Programme Officer, and informing the applicants as and when work is available. Applications for registration and employment can also be submitted directly to the Programme Officer, but normally they are expected to be submitted at the Gram Panchayat level.

As we saw, the Gram Panchayat is also the main “implementing agency”. It is expected to prepare a “development plan” for the village and maintain a shelf of projects to be taken up under EGS, based on the recommendations of the Gram Sabha. The Gram Panchayat also executes these projects, as and when they are sanctioned by the Programme Officer. All the relevant documents, including the muster rolls, are to be made available to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of “social audits”. Monitoring of EGS works implemented by the Gram Panchayat is the responsibility of the Gram Sabha and the Programme Officer.

34 What is the role of the Gram Sabha in the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

The Gram Sabha is expected to monitor the work of the Gram Panchayat, and also to participate in the planning process. In particular, the Gram Sabha will discuss and prioritise the works to be taken up, conduct regular social audits of all works carried out in the Panchayat, and verify that all the relevant norms are being observed. Resolutions of the Gram Sabha will be given priority in the planning of EGS works by the Gram Panchayat and the Programme Officer.

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35 What happens above the Block level, say at the District and State levels?

At the District level, the supervision of the Employment Guarantee Scheme is the responsibility of the “District Coordinator”. The District Coordinator is expected to “coordinate” the work of the Programme Officers, for instance by consolidating their respective “plans” into a District-level shelf of projects [Section 14(3)(b)]. The District Coordinator is also expected to prepare a “labour budget” every year during the month of December, for the next financial year. Other responsibilities of the District Coordinator include conducting regular inspections of the works in the District, sanctioning works that are not within the jurisdiction of Programme Officers, assisting the District Panchayats, and preparing an annual report to the State Council.

At the State level, the Employment Guarantee Scheme is to be monitored by a State Employment Guarantee Council (or “State Council” for short). The State Council is essentially an advisory body for the State Government. For instance, the State Council is expected to advise the State Government on the “schedule of rates” (payment rates for piece-rate work), the level of the unemployment allowance, and monitoring arrangements. Other key responsibilities of the State Council include preparing a list of “preferred works” to be taken up on a priority basis, conducting evaluations of EGS, and preparing an annual report to be laid before the State Legislature.

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Finally, the Act calls for the creation of a National Employment Guarantee Council (or “National Council” for short). The functions of the National Council are similar to those of the State Council, at the national level. The National Council monitors the implementation of the Act country-wide, advises the Central Government, and prepares an annual report to be laid before Parliament.

F. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

36 Have any safeguards against corruption been included in the Employment Guarantee Act?

Yes, the Act includes various provisions for transparency and accountability. For instance, job cards are to be issued to all labourers; wages are to be paid “directly to the person concerned and in presence of independent persons of the community on pre-announced dates”; muster rolls and other relevant documents are to be made available for public scrutiny; regular social audits of all EGS works are to be conducted by the Gram Sabhas; and so on. Further, the Employment Guarantee Act goes hand in hand with the Right to Information Act (also enacted in mid-2005). The right to information is an important tool for fighting corruption and is essential for the success of the Employment Guarantee Act. The NREGA 2005 includes an “anti-corruption clause”.

37 What is this “anti-corruption clause”?

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This clause essentially states that in the event where the Central Government receives any complaint of “improper utilization of funds” and is “prima facie satisfied” that there is a case, it can “order stoppage of release of funds to the Scheme” [Section 27(2)].

38 What does the Act say regarding the accessibility of EGS accounts and records to the public?

There are three basic provisions for this. First, the Act clearly states that “all accounts and records relating to the Scheme shall be made available for public scrutiny”, and that anyone is entitled to a copy of these documents after paying “such fee as may be specified in the Scheme” [Schedule I, Para 16]. Second, a copy of the muster rolls is to be made available for inspection at the offices of the Gram Panchayat and Programme Officer, against payment of “such fee as may be specified in the Scheme” [Schedule I, Para 17]. Third, the Gram Panchayat is supposed to provide all relevant documents (including “the muster rolls, bills, vouchers, measurement books, copies of the sanction orders and other connected books of accounts and papers”) to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of conducting social audits [Section 17(3)].

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Access to all these documents can also be sought under the Right to Information Act 2005. The provisions of this Act are very strong, and go much beyond the transparency provisions of the NREGA 2005 in many respects. For instance, there is a cap on the fees that can be charged for supplying photocopies of public documents. The Right to Information Act also has extensive provisions for “mandatory disclosure” of public documents (i.e. making these documents available in convenient form for public scrutiny without waiting for anyone to ask for them). Last but not least, the Right to Information Act provides for stiff “penalties” against officers who fail to supply information as prescribed. Thus, the Right to Information Act powerfully supplements the transparency provisions of the NREGA 2005. Skilful use of the Right to Information Act is an essential tool of effective implementation of the Employment Guarantee Act.

G. OTHER QUESTIONS

39 Are women likely to get a fair share of employment under the Employment Guarantee Scheme?

The Act states that “priority” should be given to women in the allocation of work, “in such a way that at least one-third of the beneficiaries shall be women” [Schedule II, Para 6]. What is not very clear is how this “quota” is to be implemented in the event where the proportion of women among all applicants is less than one third. The best thing to do is to encourage women to apply, and facilitate their applications, to ensure that this situation does not arise. In areas with a strong

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tradition of women’s employment outside the household, it is likely that women will account for more than one third of all applicants. In other areas, however, this may require pro-active steps to facilitate their participation in the Employment Guarantee Scheme.

40 What happens if the responsible officers (e.g. the Programme Officer) fail to perform their duty under the Act?

Ideally, there should be explicit penalties against responsible officers in the event where they fail to perform their duty under the Act. And there should be stiff penalties for gross violations of the Act, such as refusal to register someone’s application for work, of failure to pay the unemployment allowance. Unfortunately, the Act is quite weak in this respect. All it says is that “whoever contravenes the provisions of this Act shall on conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees”. It may be possible to ensure that the Rules to be framed by State Governments include stronger penalties.

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References

CONTACT (2003), Accountability, Transparency and Integrity in the Context of Governance, http://www.undp.org/governance/account.htm (accessed on 4 July 2003).Mahipal (1998), MAINSTREAM, October 31, 1998, Mathew, George (1999), Gram Sabha and Social Audit, KURUKSHETRA, October 1999

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Paul, Samuel(1996), Strengthening Public Accountability through Participation, in ‘Participation in Practice: The Experience of the World Bank and Other Stakeholders, the World Bank, Washington, D.C.- - (2003) New Mechanisms for Public Accountability: The Indian Experience

http://www.undp.org/governance/account.htm (accessed on 4 July 2003).Pearce, John et al (1996), Social Auditing for Small Organizations: The Workbook for Trainers and Practioners, New Economic Foundation, London.Singh, Kultar (2003), Social Audit: An Overview of Approach and Application, Kurukshetra, February (2003):36-40Tandon, Rajesh (2003), Democracy and Governance, PRIA News, Vol.3, Issue 4, Jan-March 2003:1-2Tiwari,R.S (2002) Good Governance: Populist Democracy to Quality Democracy, The Indian Journal of Public Administration, October-December, 2002.UNDP (2003), Accountability, Transparency, and Anti-Corruption (online), http://www.undp.org/governance/account.htm (accessed on 4 July 2003)USAID (2003), Promoting More Transparent and Accountable Government Institutions (online), http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/democracy_and_governance/technical_areas/governance/

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(accessed on 4 July 2003)

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