Social Audit

Social audit is a democratic process that ensures public accountability of agencies through a systematic demand of information by the community. This is in response to the works/programmes that have already been implemented by the government or other agencies for that particular area/community. Within its ambit, it covers issues of quality of implementation of the Programmes along with audit of expenses and decisions. It is an empowering process for the people to participate in the process, planning and implementation of works and make the implementing agency accountable for the same. Thus, it ensures participation, helps maintain transparency and culminates in accountability. In a social audit, the people and the Government jointly monitor the project. It brings on board the perceptions and knowledge of the people, involves them in the task of verification and also brings about much greater acceptability of the government.

Social audit is to be carried out by stakeholders and facilitated by Social Audit Units. The Social Audit team will pull out official documentation regarding scheme outputs over a period, both financial as well as the physical and social aspects. These records are shared with stakeholders to be verified against their own experience. Issues identified, backed up with evidence are consolidated into a social audit report which is then read out in a public forum where stakeholders are present as well as implementing agency officials so that necessary action to rectify issues raised can be determined. SAUs already set up in every state will facilitate the social audit of identified schemes.

Between December 2019 and March 2020, the DoSJE tasked NISD to, in partnership with a set of experts to host a series of work-shops to develop a framework for transparency and accountability for the Department. The framework was to lay out a set of principles and tools which would ensure that all schemes/initiatives of the Department were meeting certain basic standards of transparency and accountability. These principles and tools were then applied to select schemes/initiatives out of which schemes covering three types of GIA institutions were chosen for social audits to be piloted in – old age home, de-addiction centres and residential hostels for SC children. Social Audit guidelines were drafted, and pilot audits planned in five states but finally conducted in three. The order to conduct pilot social audits was issued in September 2020 and in October 2020, the SOP was approved and the Social Audit Units selected for the pilot process formed social justice cells within the units. In November GIA institutes were selected, and training conducted for resource persons taking part in the pilot. The pilots were rolled out in Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra between December 2020-January 2021. In total 8 de-addiction centres, 6 residential/non-residential schools and 4 senior citizen homes were covered in the pilot social audit.