• UGI USER
  • Jul 31, 2023
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Q. Social audit not only increases accountability and transparency but also facilitates good governance. Discuss. Also, highlight the impediments faced in institutionalizing social audits in India.

Approach:

  • Briefly discuss the concept of social audit.
  • Explain how it not only increases accountability and transparency but also leads to good governance.
  • Discuss the impediments faced in institutionalizing social audits in India and suggest a way forward.

Answer:

Social Audit (SA) is an accountability tool that measures, evaluates, identifies gaps in service delivery and elicits promises to rectify these gaps with the direct participation of intended beneficiaries.

In Social Audit, details of both financial and non-financial resources, used by public agencies for development initiatives, is shared amongst designated people for an in-depth scrutiny and analysis of the working of the entity in which the public expenditure is involved.

Hence, Social Audit ensures accountability and transparency in working of public agencies and reduces trust gaps between people and governments. It strengthens answerability of government for performance and deliverables and bridges the gap between policy objectives and outcomes. It also facilitates good governance in the following ways:

  • A mandated performance audit not only increases the efficiency and effectiveness of a scheme, but also creates a positive impact on governance.
  • Social Audit seeks greater participation of people in the implementation of program, consequently leading to citizen centric administration.
  • It uncovers irregularities and malpractices in the public sector and maintains oversight on government functioning.
  • Social Audit enhances the influencing power of the Gram Sabha, the lynchpin of rural governance structure.
  • It boosts professionalism in public bodies by forcing Panchayats to keep proper records and accounts of the spending made against the grants received from the government and other sources.

26 States in India have created independent social audit units (SAUs) and some have even extended Social Audit to other program, including PMAY, MDM Scheme, PDS etc. However, their institutionalization is far from complete:

Challenges with the institutionalization of social audits in India:

  • Absence of an independent agency: The absence of such agency to investigate and act on social audit findings transfers the burden on frontline social auditors to resolve grievances.
  • No incentive to participate: Lack of interest in people about the village activities due to their livelihood reasons have led to minuscule people’s participation of the common masses.
  • Lack of Compliance: A few states have yet not set up independent SAU’s. Additionally, the CAG’s detailed guidelines are yet to be implemented.
  • Faulty Selection Process: The recruited personnel for social audit seems to lack strong commitment to social justice and the technical and managerial capacity such as book-keeping, accounting practices etc.
  • Apathy of implementing agency: Social audit units continue to face resistance and lack access to primary records for verification. The implementing agency even fails to take action on the findings of the social audit.
  • Lack of stringent penalty: Flouting of Social Audit principles and norms does not attract any penalty or legal proceeding which makes it a toothless exercise.

The state of Andhra Pradesh has become a role model in terms of implementation of Social Audits. In 2017, Meghalaya became the first State to pass and roll out a social audit law to cover all departments. The system of social audits needs synergetic endorsement and a push by multiple authorities to establish an institutionalized framework, which cannot be undermined by any vested interests.