SALT aids citizens conduct social audits of government works

The Asian Age: Mumbai: Wednesday, 14 October 2015.

Social Audit Local Team (SALT) is one more initiative undertaken by responsible denizens of this city where free assistance will be provided to the general public to encourage them conduct social audits of work done by the government using the Right to Information (RTI) as a tool. The objective is to ensure proper utilisation of public funds and thus eradicate corruption.

To begin with, SALT will find out whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyan is being properly implemented or not by conducting a social audit of gardens and public toilets in the city which are, otherwise, in a terrible condition. Addressing the public meet organised by SALT at St. Joseph’s School, Wadala, on Monday, former top cop Julio Ribeiro (86) said, “I started my career in 1953 when the government’s principal was secrecy. In the police force, a lot of corruption takes place over transfers. Officers have to pay bribes to higher-ups and for this, they have to engage in corruption. I used the RTI Act once to expose this form of corruption. There are many government schemes but are they implemented? That’s why we want SALT. The RTI Act is the best and the cheapest method in our hands. I must say after India’s Independence, the RTI Act is true independence for us.”

Also at the meet attended by 70-odd persons, Bhaskar Prabhu, convenor, Mahiti Adhikar Manch, said, “Any one from the public who wants to learn how to use RTI, Right to Services (RTS) or how to conduct a social audit of government works the power bestowed on citizens under the RTI Act 2005 will be provided free assistance from us.”

SALT, in collaboration with Dolours Centre of Empowerment will provide free assistance at St. Joseph’s School every Monday at 6 pm. “We started the initiative in 2014 and have SALT members in around 12 wards of BMC. We aim to have SALT in every ward of BMC,” said another activist-member Anand Castelino.