Increase people's participation in social audit of rural development schemes: Union minister Giriraj Singh

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MGNREGA gives Gram Sabha the right to conduct regular social audits of all works and expenditures. MGNREGA was the first act to mandate social audit by the Gram Sabha of all the projects taken up in the Gram Panchayat.

Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday stressed on increasing people's participation in social audits of rural development schemes. Speaking at the second National Seminar on Social Audit of Rural Development Programmes here, Singh said social audit is the spine for all the central and state schemes. ''Jan Bhagidari (people's participation) should be the focal point in social audits,'' he said.

''Somewhere the format for social audit is lacking...there is no people's participation. Though the report is presented in the Gram Sabha, what is the point in agencies doing the audit if people are not involved,'' Singh said.

''If there is no social involvement, it is just an audit... Unless we create a platform for people there is no point,'' he said. Singh said the impact of social audit on a scheme should be assessed by all the concerned for taking the maximum benefit of the Social Audit. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) gives Gram Sabha the right to conduct regular social audits of all works and expenditures. This includes facilitation of the social audit through independent Social Audit Units, complete access to all records-online and offline, and proactive disclosure through wall writings. MGNREGA was the first act to mandate social audit by the Gram Sabha of all the projects taken up in the Gram Panchayat. Since then, it has been mandated in many other schemes.

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