Social Audit Immersion Clinic

1. Social Audit Immersion Clinic Presentation made at World Bank, Washington DC By K.Raju Prl secy to Govt, RD dept Andhra Pradesh 23rd March 2009

2. The Outline of the Session • The objectives and methodology • What is social auditing? • An overview of social Auditing of NREGS in AP • Step by step process details • Institutionalizing and taking it to scale and the lessons

3. The Objectives and methodolgy The objectives • To understand social audit from the perspective of a practitioner • To develop broad framework for social auditing of other poverty reduction programs

4. The Objectives and methodolgy The Methodology • Presentation on Social auditing of NREGS in AP • Participants reflect on the AP case and articulate how they would facilitate social auditing for their program • Challenges and how to address them

5. What is Social Audit? Community is facilitated to: • Internalise their rights and entitlements • Access relevant official records • Compare with the actual position on the ground

6. What is Social Audit? Community is facilitated to: • Analyse deviations/shortfalls if any • Identify officials responsible • Question the officials in a public forum • Secure commitment from officials for corrective measures • Follow up action monitored

7. An overview of Social Auditing of NREGS in AP Started as pilot in a few villages 3 years back The ground covered in 3 years Social auditing in all villages in the state Institutional arrangements and human resource put in place Statutory Rules notified

8. NREGA processes • Job card • Demand for work • Identification of works • Worksite management • Payment of wages and material costs

9. Social Auditing of NREGS in AP Districts covered : 22 Habitations covered : 50,000 Expenditure Audited : Rs 2500 Cr Village Social Auditors trained: 50,000 Peoples reps who attended : 30,000

10. Social Auditing of NREGS in AP Wage seekers reached : 25 lakhs Applications filed under RTI : 1000 Documents scrutinized : 4 lakhs No. Of MLAs who have : About 100 attended SAs Amount Recovered : Rs 2.50 cr

11. How it happened in AP? Learning from the pilot Social Audits in the state Wide range of steps taken to institutionalise Social Auditing and to take it to scale This presentation is essentially about how it is done

12. Social Auditing of NREGS – process details

13. NREGA, 2005- The Objectives Livelihood security to the households in rural areas 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to a family on demand as a Right

14. Rights and entitlements • Minimum wages on weekly or FN basis • Equal wages for men and women • Worksite facilities • Medical expenses for injured/ex-gratia for deceased • Unemployment allowance if work is not allotted

15. NREGA processes • Job card • Demand for work • Identification of works • Worksite management • Payment of wages and material costs

16. Social Auditing of NREGS in Mandal • Starts with filing of application with Mandal Development officer under RTI Act, for a set of NREGS documents • Documents secured within 7 days

17. Documents accessed • List of job card holders • List of works sanctioned • Estimates of each work • Muster rolls • Pay orders • Material payment vouchers

18. Analysing the documents • About 40 literate labour selected as village social auditors (VSAs) • VSAs trained for 3 days on the process • VSAs formed into 5 groups • Each groups assisted to analyse the records of 4 Gram pancayats

19. Community is assisted to undertake social auditing • Each group of VSAs spends 3 days in each Grampanchayat • Verification with each wage seeker • Focused group discussions • Inspection of works • Recording of variations if any

20. Gram Sabha convened to discuss the findings • Findings discussed • Corrective measures if any discussed and commitment from implementation agency taken

21. Public hearing convened at the Mandal Hqrts • Status of the Scheme presented • The Mandal Social Audit team read out, strengths, weaknesses and important deviations • Evidence adduced

22. Public hearing convened at the Mandal Hqrts • The officials respond • Recovery of money misappropriated • Commitment on the corrective measures secured

23. How Social Auditing of NREGS is institutionalized and taken to scale

24. Policy support • Policy support on the access to information • To provide information in a way understandable people • To delivery copies of documents if asked in 7 days time • To host Social Audit reports in web, in public domain • Commit budget exclusively for social auditing

25. Policy support • Statutory Rules on the conduct of social audit notified • Detailed Govt orders issued

26. Institutional support • An independent Unit set up at state level • 44 State Resource persons and 440 District Resource persons comprising of activists from Civil Society Organisations inducted • Training modules developed • Digitisation of social audits arranged • Web site to host Social audit reports

27. Impact and learning from AP experience • Deepening of people’s awareness on their rights • Valuable input to improve Scheme design • Deepening of social accountability • Improvement in the grassroots governance

28. Impact and learning from AP experience • Social accountability in action-acts as great deterrent • Prompt action on the findings is necessary to harness the power of the social auditing • Social auditing is not about corruption or catching the corrupt. It is a process of opening of public dialogue in the society.

29. THANK YOU