Team Herald
MARGAO: Now that every village panchayat has been goaded to prepare the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), the government will shortly going to ask for a social audit of the works undertaken under the GPDP.
This was disclosed at the three training sessions held for the 30 village panchayats of Salcete by Goa Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development wherein the sarpanchas, panchayat secretaries, convener of Village Development Committee and its members were trained on conducting the social audit.
The GPDP social audit is on a similar line as the social audit done of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and will be undertaken at the ground level with a five member committee.
The committee will have to physically inspect the work undertaken and take measurements, check the bills and accordingly prepare a report that will be presented at a special gram sabha to be held in the month of August.
This special gram sabha will have to be chaired by a knowledgeable person from the village and none of the elected panchayat members will be able to chair though they have to be attend the special gram sabha.
In fact, the social audit is to be undertaken every quarter but only one gram special gram sabha will be held where the report will be read.
The social audit is aimed at bringing about transparency and accountability while at the same time ensuring effective implementation of the schemes and thereby strengthening rural physical and social accountability.
The social audit is also an attempt to decentralise governance as India has 66.84 per cent of the population living in rural areas and around 6.40 lakh villages in the country.
