The Sangai Express: Imphal: Wednesday, September 25, 2013.
What is
Social Audit ? :
The term
social audit denotes the examination of public welfare schemes by the people
themselves. It is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately
improving an organization's social and ethical performance. This is in addition
to the audits done by the Charter Accountants, Comptroller or Auditor General's
audit or other departmental audits.
The word
Social Audit was first used in corporate sectors to boost their social
standings and acceptability by evaluating a firm's various operating
procedures, code of conduct, and other factors to determine its impact on a
society. Later, it got more popularized among the non- governmental
organizations and voluntary agencies as they used social audit as a part of
social empowerment process.
Social audit
is like the process of local self governance, to ensure democratic process and
to ensure the benefits of the people. It also can link a project with the
people. Hence, it has been widely adopted in rural development activities.
Scope of
Social Audit :
The processes
are important, one is the Right to information (RTI), under RTI, and social
audit is so simple and renders it legal. Second is the MNREG Act which is a
people oriented programme of which people have every right to know what are
there for them. Now, a few people oriented programmes have come in
participatory mode in the style of local self governance which can come within
the ambit of social audits. Many of the development schemes for rural
development, rural roads, rural housing, hygiene etc. need to come under social
audit.
The
integrated watershed projects, integrated rural development project, integrated
wasteland projects, integrated rural development project, integrated wasteland
project, National Afforestation Programmes and many other social welfare and
child welfare programmes can come under social audit as they are suitable for
such audits. In many of such programmes, the social audit has been made a
component. In fact, social audit should be made mandatory for almost all the
governmental development programmes.
In India,
most of our empowerment programmes and participatory programmes are just up to
the level of tokenism of involvement of the people. We have come up to this
level only. Initially, all the rural development programmes were fully
departmental programmes and three decades back, the Government thought that the
people were wrong and there were only attempts to correct the people and
government did what it thought to be good for the people.
Particularly
this has been true in the villages where education level has been low and
people are not informative of the government initiatives due to remoteness of
location and lack of facility. During last three decades, the machinery has
come to participatory mode, but we only try to placate them and explain them and
to some extent, consult them, but in our joint management, we end up holding
the long end of the stick. We have not gone up to the true level of
empowerment.
That is where
the importance of social audit lies. It would ensure true empowerment at least for
the programmes which concerns their own locality and villages. So, Social Audit
is more for the rural people for their empowerments. But not only the villages,
the urban wards can also take up social audit for the programmes like JNNURM.
Even, the LPG Distributors, the PDS agents can be brought under the programme
of social audit.
Advantages
of Social Audit :
The social
audit would help not only in bringing the quality of works, but also effective
implementation of the projects. If all the programmes are implemented properly;
there should be prosperity in the country. So, the mechanism of social audit
need to be strengthened and its findings taken seriously.
For effective
utilization and success of programmes, social audit becomes an important tool. It
ensures responsible business by all. When it comes to social dealings, the end
does not necessarily justify the means; the process also has to be fair. The
ethical and democratic way of decision making is important. It removes the
social differentiation and the disadvantaged groups are ensured their due share
and participation. Social audit is a capable tool for all these functions.
Social audit
should be done not only by an outside agency, but should also involve all the
stake holders which would encourage people's participation. In programmes under
participatory mode, the processes of consultation and rural appraisals are
precursors of social audit. By process of consultation the people gets involved
and they are motivated and becomes a good social capital. Thus there shall be
reduction in the out migration to the towns and there shall be reduction in the
shifting of villages frequently. As we all are aware, shifting of villages
frequently and opening of new villages have great impact on the progress of the
villagers and their socio economy.
Objectives
:
It is now our
belief that the social audit is solution to many of our development problems.
In Europe and other western countries, this system had been adopted long back,
since 1950s. It is high time that the same is also adopted in our country. It
is a welcome sign that in many schemes, the same has been made a component.
It is going
to cover more and more. But a word of caution is that when the people are
involved, how to involve, what should be timing, what sort of screening are to
be done has to be made understood. It should not be taken as a chance to harass
the people involved in implementing the programme.
The objective
should be to assess gaps between the physical and financial aspects, create
awareness among the beneficiaries, scrutinize various policy decisions,
estimate cost of missing opportunities of stakeholders, in a way to see the
cost benefit of the programme. The clearest principles are available and they
are to be followed.
The states
also should lay down proper guidelines. Ultimately, the aim is that benefits
for villagers development programme should not get dissipated in the urban
areas or should not fall in to the hands of a few.
To
be continued ....
.JPG)
.JPG)
