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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | CAG gets a say in NREGS social audit by Subodh Ghildiyal

CAG gets a say in NREGS social audit by Subodh Ghildiyal

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published Published on Mar 3, 2011   modified Modified on Mar 3, 2011

The Centre will give CAG a place in social audit of rural job scheme and direct the states to set up directorates to train auditors from civil society.

A nominee of CAG would be present in social audits that gram sabhas would conduct twice a year. CAG would also do an annual audit as part of its mandate. Coupled with the rigour of CAG's accounting, the exercise would also bring in the new concept of social audit into mainstream.

The new audit regime -- finalised by the rural development ministry and being vetted by the Union law ministry -- follows a recent submission in Supreme Court, which that there had not been any accounts audit of MGNREGA in the past five years save for a sample performance by CAG that was carried out in 68 of 625 districts.

MGNREGA, the flagship job scheme, has an annual budget of Rs 40,000 crore, butthe absence of audit regime had been a big hole in its oversight mechanism. While Section 24 of the Act says, the Centre will evolve an audit mechanism in consultation with CAG, Section 17 lays down the concept of social audit.

Sources said while social audit under gram sabha would be under the states' jurisdiction, CAG's freedom to participate in it would help both. It would not only bring an auditing expertise to the gram sabha exercise, but would also acquaint the top accounts watchdog with the intricacies of MGNREGA's functioning.

Sources said the job scheme involves works like digging and desilting that are difficult to quantify unlike civil activities that can be assessedphysically.

"It is only the locals who know the tricks by which monies in job scheme are misappropriated. CAG's presence in social audit would help the top accountant in understanding the job scheme as much as it would help the quality of social audit," a senior official said.

Under new rules, the states would set up a directorate of social audit to train civil society in auditing skills. CAG can also help in the exercise of capacity building, sources added.

The Centre has rejected the demand from activists that gram sabhas, which are the implementing agency under job scheme, should not audit its own work.

Sources said amendment to Section 17 to open social auditing beyond gram sabhas was risky as it could make the exercise vulnerable to external intervention. However, on CAG's suggestion, the social audit has been made more inclusive by adding "others" to gram sabhas to conduct the exercise.

The Times of India, 3 March, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CAG-primed-for-social-audit-role-in-MGNREGA/articleshow/7612485.cms


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