SOCIAL AUDIT AND THE MNREGA
AUTHOR - TRILOCHAN CHORASIA
(M.COM, MBA, M.PHIL, NET, HTET, B.ED) OFFICATING PRINCIPAL FACULTY IN COMMERCE GOVT. SR. SEC. SCHOOL, MALAB, MEWAT-122107
CO-AUTHOR - MAHESH KUMAR
AD-HOC ASSISTANT PROFESSOR MOTILAL NEHRU COLLEGE, SOUTH CAMPUS, DU, DELHI-110021
CO-AUTHOR - MONIKA
(MBA, NET)
EXTENSION LECTURER,
GOVT. COLLEGE SIDHRAWALI, GGN
Abstract
This impact assessment comes as an important intervention in the wake of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA) which is being implemented all over India from 1st April 2008. The idea of the assessment is also premised on the widely held belief that NREGA is foundationally capable of transforming the rural lives by improving living conditions, increasing sustainable agrarian activities and wholesome economic support. The Act stipulates that wages will be equal for men and women. It is also committed to ensuring that at least 33% of the workers shall be women. Therefore, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), being an organisation working for the benefits and rights of women, undertakes the evaluation of NREGA with such perspective. The following issues are being discussed in the chapters with special focus on women:
Socio-economic background of the NREGA workers;
Nature of economic activities available in the villages under EGA;
Increase in investment on basic healthcare and education;
What is social audit?
A social audit is a process in which the people work with the government to monitor and evaluate the planning and implementation of a scheme or programmes, or indeed of a policy or law. The social audit process is critically dependent on the demystification and wide dissemination of all relevant information.
How is it related to other types of audits? • There are at least three types of audits: – Government audit.
–People’s audit. – Social audit.
• Government audit – usually by professional auditors without significant involvement of affected people.
• Assess primarily procedural integrity and outputs.
• Little ability to get public perceptions or verify outcome.
How is it related to other types of audits?
• People’s audit – conducted by the people, sometimes with assistance from movements and NGOs. With a standing invitation to the government.
• Can get public perception, local knowledge and public verification. • Can assess outcomes and priorities.
How is it related to other types of audits?
• Social audit – conducted jointly by the government and the people especially by those people who are affected by, or are the intended beneficiaries of the scheme being audited.
• Can bring on board the perceptions and knowledge of the people. • Can look at outcomes and not just outputs.
• Can involve the people in the task of verification. • Also, much greater acceptability by the government.
The ideal scenario
• Government audit remains the basic audit, but becomes more transparent and participatory. • Social audit conducted in addition for certain types of schemes and activities, especially those involving huge and / or disaggregated expenditure.
• Public audit selectively where the auditing process seems to have failed
The scope of a social audit
• A social audit is conducted over the life span of a scheme of programme and not just in one go or at one stage.
• It audits the process, the outputs and the outcome.
• It audits planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Raising awareness of rights, entitlements and obligations under a scheme. • Specifically, about the right to participate in a social audit.
• Ensuring that all forms and documents are user friendly.
• Ensuring all relevant information is accessible, displayed and read out.
Elements of a social audit
• Ensuring that the decision making process is transparent, participatory and as far as possible, carried out in the presence of the affected persons.
• Ensuring that all decisions, and their rationale, are made public as soon as they are made. • Ensuring that measurements, certification and inspection involves the affected people on a random and rotational basis
Elements of a social audit
• Ensuring that there are regular (six monthly) public hearings (jan audit manch) where the scheme and the process of social auditing is publicly analysed.
• Ensuring that the findings of social audits are immediately acted upon. • Also ensuring that these findings result in the required systemic chances.
Socially auditing the NREGA
• In order to develop a social audit protocol for the NREGA, it is necessary to identify the distinct stages (or sets of entitlements) involved. These are: Registration and receipt of job cards.
•Applying for work, getting work in time or receiving unemployment allowance
•Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order.
Socially auditing the NREGA
•Participation in the supervision and measurement / evaluation of work. •Disbursement of full wages on time
•For each of these steps ( or entitlements), identify the vulnerabilities and dangers.
• For each of these vulnerabilities, determine and design the social auditing method most appropriate and fix institutional responsibilities and time frames.
Registration and receipt of job cards Some vulnerabilities and dangers •Denial of registration to eligible families
•Incomlete list of family members.
•Registration / issuance of job cards to ineligible / bogus families / individuals. •Asking for bribes for registration / job cards
•Delay in job cards
•Non-issuance of job cards
Registration and receipt of job cards. Social audit measures by government (to be specified in rules).
•Registration initially in a special gram sabha called for the purpose preceded by survey of eligible families and family members.
•List open for inspection at Gram Panchayat (GP) office and updated every 3 months.
Registration and receipt of job cards. Social audit measures by government (to be specified in rules)
•Registration to remain perpetually open
•Registration and GP in prescribed form A1 (photocopies allowed) received against signed and dated receipts.
•Obligation of the registration official to assist in completing registration form, even after oral request.
Registration and receipt of job cards Social audit measures by the people •The people must attend all such gram sabhas in large numbers and be vigilant.
•They must protest if either ineligible people are being registered or given job cards, or eligible ones are being denied.
•They must check the authenticity of all the information that is recorded and verify all lists and registers.
•They must regularly check whether the lists and registers are being updated as required
Applying for work, getting work in time or receiving unemployment allowance Some vulnerabilities and dangers
•Non-acceptance of work application by the relevant functionary •The wrong date or non date recorded on the work application. •Giving out-of-turn allotments for work
•Favouring or discriminating against people in allotting typel /location of work •Not respecting the gender quota
Applying for work, getting work in time or receiving unemployment allowance Some vulnerabilities and dangers
•Not informing the applicant and then showing him / her as absent. • Demanding money for allotting work / unemployment allowance.
• Denial of unemployment allowance by wrongly accusing a person for not reporting to work. • Late payment of unemployment allowance.
• Payment of unemployment allowance to the wrong person.
• Payment of unemployment allowance to non- existent (ghost) persons.
Social audit measures by government or receiving unemployment allowance. Social audit measures by government (to be specified in rules) (Responsibility : Sarpanch, Gram Sevak, Programme Officer)
•Work applications receivable by post by hand at GP or with Programme Officer (PO), on signed and dated receipt.
• Applications can be on plain paper specifying number of days of work required, starting date(s), date of request and job card number.
•Failure to accept application or issue proper receipt actionable (within 7 days) under section 23 & 25 of the act.
• An application register (B1) open to inspection by
•Employment register (B2) open to inspection at GP monthly day for disbursing NREGA information This could also be treated as the rozgar divas.
• Details of those registered, given job cards, allotted work, given unemployment allowance to be read out and publicly displayed (B3).
• Also used to explain the details of the scheme including the entitlements and obligations, the norms and procedures.
• Also to answer queries and deal with issues and complaints.
Applying for work, getting work in time or receiving unemployment allowance Social audit measures by the people
• Insist on a written and dated receipt for work application.
• If application is refused, or correctly dated receipt not given or neither work nor unemployment allowance given in the prescribed period then a complaint must be made to the district programme officer and followed up
• The monthly meetings must be attended in large numbers and grievances addressed and information checked and verified.
Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order Some vulnerabilities and dangers
•Selection of a low priority or inappropriate work. • Selection of work that serves a vested interest. • Lack of public participation / consultation for selecting work / sites.
• Inclusion, in estimate, of unnecessary expenditure. • Excessive rates and material.
• Unclear work order that does not made the details of the work clear / leaves scope for mis-
interpretation.
Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order Social audit measures by government (to be specified in rules)
•The shelf of possible works to be determined and prioritized by the gram sabha; list publicly displayed.
•The technical estimates / work orders must be summarized for lay persons and publicly displayed at PG (C1) and work site (C2).
Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order Social audit measures by the people
• The people should ensure that the projects / works / sites selected are as per their wishes and reflect their priority.
• The people must, participate 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.
Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order Some vulnerabilities and dangers
•Recording of ghost works / workers.
• Work not conforming to specifications / standards.
• Supply of less than sanctioned / poor quality materials and tools. • Taking or recording of improper measurements.
• Not consolidating the information regarding the works in one place. • Issuing of false completion certificates.
• Data recorded in a confusing / incomprehensible Manner
Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order Social audit measures by government (to be specified in rules) • Mate (site manager) shall maintain work site book (D) containing formats of muster roll, consolidation sheet, stock register, measurement book, technical estimate & work sanction, vigilance committee inspection report.
• A copy of the work file, as per the prescribed format, would also be available with mate for public inspection.
• Sample of materials can be accessed in accordance with the prescribed procedure
Participating in the identification of projects and sites, approval of technical estimates and issuing of work order Social audit measures by the people
•Must periodically verify the information on the board and in the muster roll
•Must also periodically ensure that the work is going as per the sanction / work order; must take random samples of the material.
•Must participate in the verification and assessment exercise and ensure that the work done conforms with what was commissioned and is of use to the people.
Disbursement of full wages on time •Non-payment of wages
•Late payment of wages •Under payment of wages
•Payment of wages to the wrong person
•Payment of wages in the name of non-existent Workers •Payment of wages for non-existent projects.
Disbursement of full wages on time. Social audit measures by government (to be specified in rules)
•Payments will be made by an agency independent of the implementing agency •Payments will be made collectively at a public place
•The pay order shall be read aloud
•Disclosure of piece rate measurement will be made individually and not en masse
Mahatma Gandhi NREGA at a Glance
FY 2013-2014
FY 2012-2013
Total no of Districts 644 636 635
Total No. of Blocks 6576 6568 6378
Total No. of GPs 247643 247643 247643
Total no of Villages 778134 778134 778133
Total No. of HH Registered(In Cr) 12.9 12.9 12.6
Total No. of Workers in Job Card(In Cr) 28.3 28.6 27.8
Number of GPs with NIL exp 35770 25763 25065
Number of Ongoing Works(In Lakhs) 99.8 80.2 53.2
Total No. of Works Takenup (New+Spill Over)(In lakhs) 110.8 106.5 80.8
Total Exp(In Cr)
Wages(Rs. In Cr.) 17531 27129.5 24306.2
Material and skilled Wages(Rs. In Cr.) 5652.6 10377.9 10650.5 Adm Exp:
Total Adm Expenditure 1228.7 2150.4 2116
Total Exp(Rs. in Cr.) 24412.2 39657.9 37072.7
Labour Vs Material(%) 75.6 72.3 69.5
Persons with Disability 3.5 4.1 4
Person days(In Cr)
Total as per LB 259.4 278.7 199.6
Persondays Generated so far 132 230 218.8
% of Total LB 50.9 82.5 109.6
% as per Proportionate LB 64 105.7 155.8
SC persondays 30.9 51.1 48.5
ST persondays 20.5 40.8 40.9
Average Wage rate per day per person 129.3 121.4 114.5
Average days of employment provided per Household 35 46.1 43.2
Total No of HHs completed 100 Days of Wage Employment(In
Lakhs) 12.5 51.5 41.7
% payments gererated within 15 days 68.2 61.7 57.8
% of payments Disbursed through EFMS 16.2 0.9 0
5. Social Audit: A Tool for Performance Improvement and Outcome Measurement. Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad, 2005.
6. www.nrega.nic.in
7. http://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx
8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_audit
