Social audit of mgnrega in Maharashtra

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) evokes extreme reactions from supporters and opponents. When the scheme was launched in 200 districts in 2005, and later expanded to cover the entire country in 2008, its advocates hailed it as the beginning of a new era for rural India. However, it enraged India's influential neo-liberal economists so much that one of them claimed he had found a better way of ‘wasting’ public money: showering of currency notes from helicopters. For now, the skeptics are silent mainly because of following three reasons:

The scheme is widely regarded as successful.

It is being hailed as an important reason for the UPA's return to power.

The recession-hit Western world is swearing by public expenditure on welfare. Of late, their criticism is mainly confined to corruption and malpractices, which, in all fairness, are rampant though not insurmountable.

The NREGA differs from most poverty mitigation schemes so far in one fundamental way: It recognizes employment as a legal right. Its fringe benefits include inclusion of the rural poor in the banking system, regeneration of community assets and gender equality. The enactment of NREGA also signifies coming of age of Indian advocacy and civil society activism. The credit for converting a somewhat utopian idea into a policy push goes to numerous civil society activists, committed experts and grassroots organizations who worked for years to achieve this. Many of these activists are now working on effective social audits and a system of compensations for delay in wage payments.

Despite the optimism generated by the implementation of the NREGA, it runs the risk of degenerating into yet another government dole in the absence of comprehensive reforms in India's local governance and public service delivery mechanism. Many experts argue that an effective execution of the NREGA requires a cadre of functionaries accountable to the village Panchayats with adequate funding and a comprehensive roadmap. Social audit process in its true sense has been very limited. However, the limited experience indicates that it deepens faith of the workers to participate, express their aspiration and enabled security income. The processes have enabled the workers to discuss about creation of appropriate self of work which can create durable and sustainable assets, bottle neck in payment process etc.

Social audit can make a reality check on many issues and ideas. It can examine appropriateness of the work, adverse effect on the environment, use and innovations in tools and implements which can make the manual work comfortable as well as income generating. It can also spread awareness about payment through bank and post offices to stop corruption. To make NREGA successful one need to dispel fear of Social audit and put the process under the hands of workers to build the future of rural India.

Social audits implemented in true spirit can initiate public participation, dialogue and scrutiny. It can help examine the relevance of purpose and processes. It can ascertain the relevance and benefits of expenditure to the target group.