Transparency and Responsibility in NREGA

Under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in September 2005, Government of India got passed the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the Parliament. Through this Act, a member of a rural house hold was to be provided job for at least 100 days in a financial year, as an unskilled worker (labourer). This was guaranteed under the Act. Thereafter Government of India issued a guide and the scheme was launched on February 2, 2006 in 200 districts of the country. In the first phase this scheme was launched in 22 districts of Uttar Pradesh. For transparency and Responsibility in NREGA, Social audit is an effective tool. It returns to the poor and deprived people its right of ownership alongwith democratic awareness. Social audit is such a process which promotes mass awareness and also ensures people’s participation. For ensuring transparency and responsibility, people’s involvement is a must and it will be tickle down to the lower levels only when the process of social audit is adopted and done through citizens, groups and gram sambas. The most interesting finding of this research is the possibility of a new paradigm for the relationship between state agencies and civil society organisations. The state itself hes commissioned civil society organizations to ensure transparency and responsibility in the working of NREGA through the process of social audits. CSOs are encouraged to bring out into the open instances of corruption and malad ministration in the state machinery itself. In a sense, this model involves both conflict and cooperation with state agencies and therein lies it uniqueness. Ar we approach the second anniversary of NREGA in February-2008 there may be lessons to be learnt from the experience of Andhra Pradesh for other states.