Social Audits

Social Audit is the examination and assessment of a programme/ scheme conducted with the active involvement of people and comparing official records with actual ground realities.

A social Audit is a powerful tool for social transformation, community participation, and government accountability.

Financial audits involve inspecting and assessing documents related to financial transactions in an organization to provide a true picture of its profits, losses, and financial stability.

On the other hand, Social audits focus on the performance of a program in fulfilling its intended social objectives and ethical vision.

In India, social audits were begun by Tata Iron and Steel Company in 1979.

Later, such an auditing mechanism gained significance after the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, which attempted to empower Panchayati Raj institutions and gram sabhas by arming them with such audits.

Section 17 of the MGNREGA Act has mandated a Social audit of all works executed under the MGNREGA.

It informs and educates people about their rights and entitlements.

It provides a collective platform for people to ask queries, express their needs and grievances.

Furthermore, it promotes people’s participation in all stages of the implementation of programmes.

Also, it brings about transparency and accountability in government schemes.

It strengthens decentralized governance.

Meghalaya became first state in country to operationalize The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017, a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a scheme called Information-Monitoring, Evaluation and Social Audit(I-MESA) in which Social Audits are to be conducted for all schemes of the Department starting FY 2021-22. These social audits are done through Social Audit Units(SAU) of the States and National Institute for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.