Social audit of welfare projects on the anvil

ALLAHABAD: The UP government has decided to conduct social audit of various welfare and development projects to assess the on-ground efficacy of its initiatives.

The government has directed all the departments to commission on-field social audit of government-funded works undertaken by them through the UP Social Audit Organisation (UPSAO).

The step is being seen as an effort by the Yogi Adityanath government to scrutinise projects implemented by the past governments using public funds and to undertake corrective measures for ongoing schemes. Chief secretary Rahul Bhatnagar has instructed all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries and secretaries to ensure social audits as per guidelines.

In a missive dated June 12, Bhatnagar said past social audits carried out by the organisation had yielded good results for the government and similar audits should be undertaken for welfare and development projects and schemes.

Since its inception in July 2012, UPSAO has been conducting social audits of projects launched under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).

With this decision, the government is aiming at the wider use of resources and manpower of UPSAO. “With director and additional and joint directors, block-level coordinators and resource persons in place, it is time to widen the scope of audits being undertaken by the directorate,” said a senior official at UP rural development department.

WITH THIS DECISION, THE GOVERNMENT IS AIMING AT THE WIDER USE OF RESOURCES AND MANPOWER OF UPSAO.