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NEWS ALERTS | Social audit of MGNREGA conducted in one-third of districts
Social audit of MGNREGA conducted in one-third of districts

Social audit of MGNREGA conducted in one-third of districts

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published Published on Mar 26, 2016   modified Modified on Feb 28, 2021

 

Social audit is an important tool not just to ensure transparency and accountability in the MGNREGS, but also for successful running of the programme. The MIS (Management Information System) data provided by the website www.nrega.nic.in reveals that at the national-level roughly one-third of all districts were covered under social audit during the financial year 2015-16, as on 26 March, 2016.

The top 5 states during 2015-16 (FY) in terms of the percentage of total districts covered under social audit were Karnataka (100%), Himachal Pradesh (100%), Meghalaya (90.9%), Punjab (90.9%), and West Bengal (90.0%). Please check chart-1 on the status of social audit in various states during 2015-16 to know more.    

Although social audits are mandatory as per the 73rd Constitutional Amendment done in 1993, merely 3 percent of all Gram Panchayats at the national-level were covered under social audit for MGNREGA.

The top 5 states during 2015-16 (FY) in terms of the percentage of total Gram Panchayats covered under social audit were Karnataka (53.9%), West Bengal (8.2%), Himachal Pradesh (6.9%), Punjab (6.6%) and Meghalaya (5.0%). Please check chart-1 on the status of social audit in various states during 2015-16 to know more.    



As per the MIS data accessed from www.nrega.nic.in (as on 26 March, 2016), of the 19,755 complaints lodged at the national-level during 2015-16, most were lodged against Gram Panchayats (85.9%), followed by Programme Officers (3.7%), Block Panchayats (3.5%), District Programme Coordinator (3.0%), Zilla Panchayats (2.7%) and Implementing Agency (1.2%).

Of the 19,631 complaints lodged at the national-level during 2015-16, most were lodged by workers (68.1%), followed by citizens (22.6%) and states (2.7%). VIPs lodged 332 complaints, media 291, NGOs 238 and social audit lodged just 1 complaint during 2015-16 (as on 26 March, 2016).

Of the 12,024 complaints pending, most are with the states (89.4%).

Poor performance of Social Audit

Although every state has to constitute an independent Social Audit Unit (SAU) as per the Audit of Scheme Rules 2011 issued under the MGNREGA, information provided by the Government based on the review of functioning of the SAUs shows that:

• Only 10 states have operationalised SAUs as laid down in the Social Audit Rules 2011. They are: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

• Only 4 states i.e. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur and Meghalaya have constituted independent agencies but are yet to appoint full time personnel for conduct of Social Audits.

• Only 2 states i.e. Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir have appointed Director of Social Audit, but did not constitute independent Societies.

• Eleven states are yet to comply with the Audit of Scheme Rules 2011. These states are: West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Standing Committee on Rural Development (2015-16) of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha has observed that only 8 states have set up independent Societies to perform the function of SAUs and just a handful of states have uploaded the status of grievances in public domain. The Standing Committee chaired by Dr. P Venugopal in its report has noted that only a few states have taken disciplinary/ criminal action against the functionaries found responsible for irregular implementation of the MGNREGA. The Standing Committee has also detected that most states are yet to appoint the requisite number of Ombudsmen at district-level for grievance redressal (please click here to access).

Importance of Social Audit & Grievance Redressal mechanisms

Social audits help in drawing attention to irregularities, gaps, etc., and in improving implementation of the MGNREGA. A social audit refers to an audit of all processes and procedures under the NREGS, including wage payments, muster rolls, etc. It normally involves examination of all documents and records of work done.

The MGNREGA Sameeksha, published in 2012, informs us that there are evidences from the field that shows that the frequency of social audits and their quality is a major constraint in effective implementation of the job guarantee scheme (please click here to access).

The MGNREGA Sameeksha 2012, edited by Dr. Mihir Shah, says that the Government of India suggested for the setting up of 3-tier vigilance mechanisms by states so as to pro-actively detect irregularities in the implementation of the job guarantee Act and to follow up detected irregularities and malfeasance, including those identified during social audit.

According to the MGNREGA Sameeksha, social audit of MGNREGA is complemented by the performance audit done by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG),

The MGNREGA Sameeksha says that under the MGNREGA 2.0, the Government of India notified Social Audit Rules that mandate the establishment of a SAU, so as to facilitate social audit by Gram Sabhas.

• The SAU can be either a society or a directorate, in each case independent of the implementing departments/agencies.

• The SAU shall be responsible for building capacities of Gram Sabhas for conducting social audit by identifying, training and deploying suitable resource persons at village, block, district and state-level (drawing from primary stakeholders and other CSOs).

• The SAU will create awareness amongst the labourers about their rights and entitlements under the Act and facilitate verification of records with primary stakeholders and work sites.

The NCAER report entitled Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation informs us that the main responsibility of a Gramin Rozgar Sahayak (GRS) is to facilitate social audits, among other things. The Programme Officer (PO) is required to keep documents ready for the SAU for smooth conduct of social audits at least two weeks in advance of Gram Sabha meetings. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) too help in the effective implementation of social audits (please click here to access).

Grievance redressal mechanisms and rules are essential for ensuring a responsive implementation process. Generally there is a low awareness about grievance redressal mechanisms among poor people. The MGNREGA Sameeksha (2012) says that in order to strengthen grievance redressal, the Government of India amended the MGNREGA’s Schedule to prescribe rules for speedy and effective disposal of complaints. The states have also been advised to set up district-level ombudsman so as to receive complaints from MGNREGA workers and other stakeholders and facilitate their redressal.


References

MIS data on Social Audit, please click here to access

 

 
MIS data on complaints and grievances, please click here to access

Eighteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Rural Development (2015-16), Sixteenth Lok Sabha, Ministry of Rural Development, please click here to access

MGNREGA Sameeksha: An Anthology of Research Studies on the the MGNREGA 2006-2012, edited by Mihir Shah, Ministry of Rural Development, please click here to access
 
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation (2015) - Sonalde Desai, Prem Vashishtha and Omkar Joshi, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and University of Maryland, please click here to access
 
Social Audit - Gram Sabha and Panchayati Raj: Assessment of present status and recommendation of methods for making social audit, a viable instrument for sustainable programme delivery (final report submitted to the Planning Commission), prepared by Vision Foundation for Development Management, October 2005, please click here to access

Job scheme in decline -Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline.in, 1 April, 2016, please click here to access

A grassroots revolution -Rob Jenkins, The Hindu Business Line, 1 March, 2016, please click here to access

The 'making' of rural India -Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh, Deccan Herald, 9 February, 2016, please click here to access

MGNREGA: Par'l panel unhappy over lack of grievance redressal, Business Standard, 22 December, 2015, please click here to access

SC takes serious view of job scheme arrears -Krishnadas Rajagopal, The Hindu, 3 November, 2015, please click here to access
 
Image Courtesy: Shambhu Ghatak 


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