(a) the details of operational guidelines of developmental schemes and citizen centric
programmes for social audit mechanism;
(b) the impact of the social audit mechanism in monitoring public service schemes;
(c) the extent of financial assistance provided to conduct social audit, State-wise and UT-
wise; and
(d) the outcome of the social auditing of various flagship programmes of the Government?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR PLANNING, PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, PERSONNEL
PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSION (SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY)
(a): The Planning Commission in the year 2008 suggested that social audit mechanism can be
included in the guidelines of monitoring of flagship programmes of the Government of India.
(b) to (d): A community based monitoring of health services under National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM) has been initiated through Advisory Group on Community Action
(AGCA), a Standing Committee constituted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Population Foundation of India (PFI) functions as the Secretariat for AGCA. A pilot project
for community based monitoring of health services was done in nine states (Assam,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and
Tamil Nadu), and the findings recommended that the community based planning and
monitoring was more effective than monitoring alone. The review highly endorsed scaling up
community monitoring in the states and including the programmes in the state Annual
NRHM Programme Implementation Plans.
The Ministry of Rural Development in order to check irregularities in the implementation of
MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) has accorded
utmost importance to the organization of social audits by the gram panchayats and issued
instructions to the states to make necessary arrangements for the purpose. Modifications have
been made in para 13 of schedule-I of the Act to provide for procedures on conducting social
audits. The ministry has also issued instructions to the State Governments for enforcement of
the new social audit provisions under MGNREGA.