The villagers gathered under the colourful tent in front of the Tehsil office in Bhim yesterday, were witness to an unforeseen, yet potentially very significant event: an impromptu experiment with a Grievance Redress Manch. What had been planned as a ‘jan sunwai’, by the spontaneous turn of events morphed into a platform in which mass grievances were raised and addressed. The presence of the concerned government administration as well as ‘civil society’ actors ensured a conductive environment for people’s individual grievances to be attended to. The success of this experience could prove to be an important ingredient in the broader attempts to strengthen grievance redress mechanisms.

 ***

Jan sunwais, as pioneered by Mazdoor Kishan Shakti Sangathan in the early 1990’s, originally focused on development works at the Gram Panchayat level. Of late, MKSS has ventured into carrying out jan sunwais on an entire department. The first such jan sunwai was held on 3^rd November of this year, wherein the electricity department of Bhim, Rajsamand was audited. The particular focus was on the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Gram Vidyutikaran Yojna’ – a scheme to provide free electricity connections to BPL households.

Armed with the list of BPL families who have been provided electricity connections – as per the official electricity department records – a survey team conducted door-to-door verifications in various Gram Panchayats within the Block of Bhim. These findings were then presented publicly in a jan sunwai held in Bhim. Multiple cases of corruption and grievances were uncovered, ranging from bribe-taking for installing connections, to the non-deliverance of connection components, to the mishandling of electricity bills. During the jan sunwai proceeding, people’s complaints were registered and handed over to the electricity department. It was agreed that the departmental administration would look into these complaints and publicly announce its progress in a follow-up jan sunwai to be held the following month.

While the electricity department was diligently attempting to deal with every case that had been registered during the jan sunwai, another survey team set off to conduct further door-to-door verifications. Similar to the previous round of surveys, manifold stories of corruption came to the surface. People were urged to attend the second jan sunwai that would serve as a follow-up of the previous jan sunwai, as well as to allow people to register new complaints.

As scheduled, the follow-up jan sunwai was held one month after the initial jan sunwai. At first, as the day began, only few people turned up. MKSS members sat down on the floor and around the tables that had been set up to seat the expected panel of district administration, recording the grievances of the few people that had already arrived. Gradually more and more people began trickling-in, shoving their way towards anybody willing to record their grievance. By the time the electricity department administration and the related contractors arrived, there were such swarms of people, that they too were compelled to write down the many complaints that came flowing in. Over a span of a few hours, hundreds of people rushed forward, eager to have their complaint heard and registered.

It was astounding to observe with what conviction and fervour people presented their grievances. An elderly woman battled her way through the crowd on her crutches, infuriated by a mammoth electricity bill she had recently received. She had not received a bill in over three years, and when she finally did, it is over Rs 6000. Being widowed and having no children, she bemoaned that it is entirely inconceivable for her to pay such a bill. In another incidence, a group of people openly declared that they were forced to pay a bribe of Rs 700 each to the sub-contractor, blaming the contractors present in the event for being implicated in the bribe-taking. Another woman lamented that she had received the free electricity components, but had been told that she had to cover the costs for erecting an electricity pole herself. As she could not afford this, she had tied the electricity cables to a tree. Now the tree has fallen, and with it, her electricity connection has been cut. One man recounted that since over two years he had been receiving two bills, but that when he goes to the electricity department to complain, his problem is not addressed and he continues to be sent two bills. Countless such cases were brought forward, each revealing the severity of consequences that the inefficiency and corruption of the electricity department has on the villagers it is supposed to be benefitting.

This platform, in which administration and staff was exclusively focused on hearing and registering people’s grievances, turned out to be a critical juncture in the relationship between citizens and government administration.  Had the widowed woman who received the delayed bill gone to the electricity department directly, in most likelihood she would have been shoved around, with no one catering to her demand. In fact, there were countless accounts of people who had gone with their particular grievance to the electricity department, yet, often, after the third or even fourth visit, their complaint had still not been registered. An individual seeking to be heard in the cold corridors of officialdom is typically greeted with apathy and contempt. However, in a setting set up exclusively for the redress of grievances, with each complaint heeded and legitimized, people gain confidence. Moreover, the public and participatory nature of such an event, allows for a sense of collectivity, furthermore empowering people. It was this that allowed villagers to directly accuse the contractor for seeking Rs 700 as bribe from them. It takes immense courage to speak up to those in power, when one is accustomed to being treated with disdain.  The Grievance Redress Manch facilitated precisely such a platform.

The experiment with holding a public and collective ‘camp’ for registering grievances as experienced in Bhim proved to be such a success, that it is paramount for this experiment to be taken forward. The current deliberations of setting up a Grievance Redress mechanism only makes true sense, if people are guided in the process and a conducive environment is facilitated. Without such an environment, common citizens will not be guaranteed from falling prey to official apathy. The experience in Bhim showed that provided the platform, people proactively seek redress. There must be independent People Support Centres at the block level, providing information and facilitation to common people. In addition, regular Grievance Redress camps ought to be seriously deliberated, in order to spread the success of the recent Bhim Grievance Redress Manch.

For more information, read Jean Dreze – Kaun Banega Scorepati

The following is the memorandum from the Jan Manch.

29 November 2011

To:       All Members of Parliament

National Food Security Act: Memorandum from Right to Food Campaign

Today, 29 November, hundreds of us from around the country have gathered at Jantar Mantar in another effort to voice our demand for a comprehensive National Food Security Act.

During the last two and a half years since June 2001, the Right to Food Campaign has consistently advocated the enactment of a comprehensive National Food Security Act, including not only a universal Public Distribution System but also other measures to protect people’s right to food, such as (1) universal nutrition, health and pre-school education services for children below the age of six years, under ICDS, (2) nutritious, cooked midday meals for all children in the age group of 6-14 years, (3) maternity entitlements and other facilities (e.g. counseling and support for optimal infant and young child feeding) for pregnant and lactating women, (4) special assistance (including social security pensions) for marginalized groups and persons/communities at risk of hunger. Along with this, the Campaign advocates revitalization of local agriculture, assured Minimum Support Prices, decentralized procurement and storage, and the inclusion of pulses, cooking oil and millets in the Public Distribution System.

The Food Ministry’s draft of the National Food Security Bill, posted for comments on the Ministry’s website in September 2011, falls short of all these demands and even trims down the very modest entitlements proposed by the National Advisory Council. The main goal of this draft seems to be to minimize the obligations of the government, restrict people’s entitlements, and avoid any accountability.

We are particularly alarmed by the following aspects of the draft National Food Security Bill:

1. The Bill is based on a narrow vision of what is required to ensure food security, restricted mainly to foodgrain rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
2. Even within that restricted approach, the Bill is deeply flawed. It perpetuates the failed model of “BPL targeting” and threatens to undermine what is already there.
3. The bill has reduced the entitlements in the PDS to a mere 7kgs cereals per person per month entitlement if a priority household and 3kgs per person if general. When the ICMR norms state that the quantity consumed per month per adult is 14kgs cereal.
4. The Bill neglects the rights of children (particularly children under six), including those – such as universalization of ICDS – already due under Supreme Court orders.
5. The grievance redressal provisions are very weak.
6. The Bill allows the central government to replace food entitlements with cash transfers on its own terms, without any safeguards.
7. The draft has no safeguards against commercial interference in supply of food in schools and anganwadi centres.
8. The draft gives sweeping powers to the central government, including powers to modify most entitlements and prescribe binding guidelines for all relevant schemes.
9. The coming into force of the Act is not time-bound.

A more detailed critique of the Bill is attached.

We are also concerned that the Bill relies on a division of the population into three groups (Priority, General and excluded), without any clarity as to how these groups are to be identified. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), while possibly an improvement over earlier BPL Censuses, is highly inadequate for this purpose. Among those who have joined us today at Jantar Mantar are many poor people who are at risk of exclusion from the Priority group because of the flawed nature of the SECC’s scoring system.

We reiterate our demand for a comprehensive National Food Security Act, which includes a

• A Universal PDS which includes pulses, cooking oil and millets, with food entitlements based on ICMr norms. , so that all, especially the food insecure, the vulnerable, and the deprived not only get included but also get sufficient nutritious  food.
• Appropriate MSPs and decentralised procurement of not just rice and wheat but also millets and pulses.
• No link with any “caps” based on official poverty estimates.
• ‘Universalisation with quality’ of ICDS including the provision of nutritious locally prepared food for all children.
• Universal non-conditional maternity entitlements for 6 months.
• Entitlements for vulnerable groups such as pensions for the aged, single women and persons with disabilities, maternity entitlements and community kitchens

We urge you to ensure that the National Food Security Bill is not tabled, let alone enacted, in its present form.

 Contact: Secretariat, Right to Food Campaign, 5 A Jungi House, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110049. Tel 011-2649 9563. Email: righttofoodindia@gmail.com.

(Website: www.righttofoodindia.org)

from Dainik Bhaskar 30 Nov 2011

The MKSS organized a public hearing in the Bhim tehsil, Rajasthan on the grievances that arise in the access and distribution of electricity. The public hearing was attended the District Collector, Executive Engineer of the Electricity Department other Government officials and workers and the residents of Bhim.

The public hearing particularly focused on two pertinent issues. It highlighted the nature of implementation of the Central Government’s Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) its flagship programme to provide free electricity connections to BPL households. Personal testimonies during the public hearing outlined the range of concerns that affected people were having with the nature of implementation of the RGGVY, such as- inadequate supply of electricity, improper reading of the meters, electricity supply without corresponding billing, non supply of all components meant to be provided along with a new electricity connection, under the RGGVY, monopoly of private companies and their collusion with Government officers. Secondly, the public hearing highlighted the urgent need for a focused legislation on grievances faced by citizens over a range of schemes and programmes, and their structural redress. It was unanimously agreed upon that there is a need for a decentralized grievance redress mechanism, in tune with local concerns and needs. Modes of peoples participation like social audits, jan sunvais were cited as positive examples of monitoring the implementation of Government programmes, which need to be held widely on a more regular basis.

With reference to the above, the following resolutions were passed on the basis of a consensus arrived at by the participants of the public hearing, while welcoming the move of the Central Government to introduce a legislation on Grievance Redress:

1) Demand for a strong and independent District level Grievance Redress Authority/Commission that will be responsible for receiving grievances, imposing penalties on errant officials and award appropriate compensation to the aggrieved.
2) Demand for an independent Peoples’ Service Center at the Block level that will facilitate citizens in filing their grievances and complaints, issue dated receipts to acknowledge all grievances and complaints, track the status of grievances through an integrated system and be held responsible for escalating grievances not dealt by the Grievance Redress Officer within a specified time period, to the independent District Grievance Redress Commission automatically in the form of an appeal.

The participants strongly urged the Government to look into the resolutions, to solicit greater support for the proposed Grievance Redress Bill. The participants also declared that they would continue to engage in non-violent democratic forms of protests and struggle for the fulfillment of their demands.

Signed:
Shankar Singh, Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey
For the MKSS Collective

PRESS RELEASE

Todgarh Social Audit endorses district administration findings of Rs 56 lakh embezzlement

Abhiyan demands governmental enquiry of entire block

Jaipur, January 7, 2011: The social audit of development works under MGNREGA in Todgarh panchayat, Ajmer district asserted and endorsed the Rs 56 lakh embezzlement found by the district administration in a recent enquiry, whose findings were read out at the social audit gram sabha yesterday. It may be recalled that only recently, panchayat resident Bikam Chand Jain who was seeking information  on MGNREGA and other panchayat works in Todgarh had his legs cut off by relatives of the ex-sarpanch and is currently undergoing treatment in Mumbai. Significantly, corruption to the tune of Rs 1.3 crore was also uncovered by a special audit of MGNREGA works last year in neighbouring panchayat Malaton ki Vair.

“The scale of fraud being unearthed in these two neighbouring panchayats and the violent attack on information seekers indicates there is rampant corruption in this area. We demand that an enquiry of the entire block be done,” said Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS).

Chairperson of the social audit committee Tej Singh pointed out that while water conservation works had been sanctioned for 5 years, only Rs 24 lakh for one year had been shown as expenditure by the panchayat, and even here, the social audit team found that only Rs 1 lakh of work had been actually done. Irregularities in muster rolls, fake names, works done in places other than where sanctioned were also uncovered by the social audit team.

Tej Singh also informed those present that there was a discrepancy in the amount of expenditure shown on the wall painting and the actual records. While only an amount of Rs 60.19 lakh had been shown on the walls, the actual expenditure in 2009-10 stood at Rs 1.95 crore.

However, the Todgarh social audit is also significant as it brought out the weaknesses of the social process done by the social audit committee without any technical support or ‘outside’ intervention ever since the central government amended the social audit clause 13b in theMGNREG Act.

When the chairperson of the social audit committee Tej Singh got up to read the findings of the social audit team initially, the Additional CEO, Zila Parishad Ajmer signaled to the additional tehsildar to read out the findings of the district administration’s report instead and take note of any objections. Thereafter, the entire proceedings was conducted by the government officers rather than the social audit team members.

The social audit gram sabha was attended by members of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, SR Abhiyan and 14 IAS trainees from the IAS Academy, Mussoorie  as observers.

Mukesh Goswami /Sowmya Sivakumar

(on behalf of the Abhiyan)

News articles about the Todgarh Social Audit:

Rural Jobs Social Audit Confirms Fraud, The Hindu

Fraud in Accounts Confirmed, Times of India

“We are extremely concerned and distressed to hear reports that Teesta Setalvad, Advocate MM Tirmizi and others are being victimised for their steadfast effort to take judicial proceedings against the perpetrators of the communal riots that took place in Gujarat in 2002 to their logical conclusion. We are very disturbed to hear that they fear for their lives and are anxious for their safety. It is very unfortunate that the very State that should be offering them protection and should see them as partners in ensuring justice is done, is harassing them. We urge the government in the strongest possible way to ensure that no harm through malicious intent comes their way.

The trial on the 2002 Gujarat communal riots is near its end and so this harassment has clearly been timed to intimidate the ‘Citizens for Peace and Justice’ who have been fighting for the victims. One must also take cognisance of the fact that similar to the unjustified persecution of Binayak Sen, this also seems to be an attempt to pass a message to others not to come out in support of human rights and victims of injustice. The conviction of Binayak Sen for sedition and treason, has implications well beyond the State of Chhattisgarh. That voices of dissent are being forcefully stamped out by the State through such coercive means and intimidation in different States in India shows the need for vigilance across the country to protect activists human rights defenders, and democracy itself.”

Signed,

Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh and Bhanwar Meghwanshi

For the MKSS

Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh and the MKSS collective

• A US-India Partnership on Open Government and Expo on Democracy and Open Government where MKSS participated and its stall was visited by the US President Barack Obama.

• “It takes a village to tackle corrpution” – Times of India

Sourced from the Hindu, October 2, 2010

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which has revitalised the rural landscape across the country, stands diminished in the land of its birth, Rajasthan, hijacked and held to ransom by vested interests and stripped of its backbone of an open social audit. As the Andhra experience has shown, there is one ingredient that can bring back its vitality: institutionalising citizen audits. But, is the Rajasthan government up to it?

The scene was at Jhalon ki Madar Panchayat, Rajsamand district, Rajasthan, year 2002. C.P Joshi, the then Panchayati Raj Minister of Rajasthan, retorted to an unhappy pradhan at a jan sunwai of public works — “The right to information is here to stay. It has become a part of the Constitution, whether we all like it or not. These social audits will happen. The sooner we accept this, the better we will be able to use our rights.”

Today, C.P Joshi is at the helm of the Rural Development Ministry for the entire country. Call it irony, the turning of tide or coincidence, but social audit of the Rs. 40,000-crore Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in his own home state is on the brink of collapse.

Sarpanches and gram sewaks are out on the streets, rioting and striking, refusing to do what has been ordained by the government as a state-wide social audit of all MGNREGS works in every village in the state. The social audit, scheduled to begin on August 26, has proved an utter non-starter with sarpanches boycotting it widely and gram sewaks (Panchayat secretaries) going on strike. All of a sudden, the sarpanches — seen as the mascot of decentralised grassroots governance — are playing just this card to assert their ‘rights’, the right to procure materials under the MGNREGA so that their pockets don’t dry up, and the right not to do social audits. The Opposition parties have of course, jumped in to do their bit of politicking, with ex-Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and 60 to 70 BJP MLAs courting arrest, following the arrest of four MLAs and BJP-rebel Independent and Dausa MP, Kirorimal Meena, all openly sympathising with the sarpanch protests. Quickly, the entire matter has burgeoned into a huge political game, with the real issues getting lost in the din.

In a matter of five years, the entire conception, formulation and practice of social audits in the state as an independent, open, inclusive, fair and participatory process where people — whether from inside or ‘outside’ (read activists, researchers, concerned individuals etc.) — could objectively facilitate and enable labourers to assert their rights has been systematically attacked and dismantled. In its place has crept up a debilitated and senseless version where the corrupt system will audit itself and still call it a social audit! And to give all this a legal backing, the vested interests have an ally in the centre, which has quietly and strategically amended Section 13 b, Schedule I of the Act (read on for details), keeping ‘outsiders’ at bay in the whole social audit process.

How the cookie crumbled

A step by step construct of how this happened:

The NREGA 2005 historically made social audit mandatory under Section 17, vesting these powers with the Gram Sabha. Section 13 of Schedule I (at the end of the Act) reiterated that “every scheme shall contain adequate provisions for ensuring transparency and accountability at all level of implementation.”

In addition, the Operational Guidelines 2008 of the NREGA 2005 envisaged Social Audit Forums, defined as “periodic assemblies convened by the Gram Sabha as part of the process of social audit” where a mandatory review of all aspects of the social audit would take place at Gram Sabha meetings to be held at least once in every six months, solely for this purpose.

Thus, although the ‘social audit forums’ were seen as special purpose ‘Gram Sabhas’ (which is the entire body of voters in the Panchayat), the guidelines explicitly stated that the forums would not be presided by the sarpanch (who is usually the chairperson of the Gram Sabha), ward panch or anyone to do with the Panchayat or any implementing agency. It also specified that the secretary of the forum must be an official from outside the Gram Panchayat and the person responsible for presenting the information should not be a person involved in implementing the work.

At this juncture, neither the Act nor any specific government order refrained activists or NGOs from playing a role in mobilising people or participating in social audits. In the meanwhile, the Campaign for Right to Work and Right to Information (or SR Abhiyan, a loose network of NGOs and activists in the state) initiated a series of social audits in the mass padyatra mode with the local people in districts like Dungarpur, Udaipur, Sirohi, Karauli, Banswara, Jhalawar and Bhilwara. While the initial social audits went off without much of an opposition, the backlash started visibly from the Banswara social audit. The Bhilwara audit was the first attempt by the Abhiyan and government to come together in a participatory mode and conduct an audit of each and every village in an entire district. The intention then was to replicate this in every district of the state. It thus came down as an inescapable reality to the corrupt elements that social audits were here to stay and it would be their ‘number’ too one day.

The progressive resistance from vested interests came from those immediately affected — the sarpanches and the gram sewaks — and they were also the most vociferous in their protest. Following the Bhilwara social audit in October 2009, which uncovered huge frauds in the material component alone, they mounted pressure on the state government with strikes and gheraoes and even went to the High Court. The state government acted decisively by taking away their responsibility of making material purchases and giving it to the block offices instead. This was more than what the sarpanches could stomach, and the protests exploded.

This is where the amendment to Section 13, Schedule I of the Act came to their aid. The amendment itself was done surreptitiously, and discovered much later by activists only when it was used against them. Done by the Central Government through a gazette notification dated December 31, 2008, it played right into the hands of sarpanches in Rajasthan who specifically used the clause 13(b)(xi). It stated “the social audit process shall be open to public participation. Any outside individual person apart from the Gram Sabha shall be allowed to attend the social audit as observers without intervening the proceedings of the Social Audit (bold added for emphasis).” The sarpanches gained respite with the High Court staying the entire social audit process in the state, ruling that Section 13b had to be followed to the letter. With this, the social audits as done earlier in a campaign/participatory mode, came to a standstill.

An outcry by the Campaign and worries on account of corruption established in previous audits led the government to announce ‘special audits’ in all 36 districts (one Panchayat in each district was chosen) in December 2009. Irregularities to the tune of Rs. 6.2 crore were discovered, averaging around Rs. 21 lakh in each Panchayat.

After the Panchayati Raj elections early this year and increasingly succumbing to pressure, the state government came out openly and announced a state-wide social audit exercise — their way. Section 13(b) became the guiding light for all social audit in the state, and any outside participation became a strict no-no. The entire onus of conducting the social audit was placed on a social audit committee, to be appointed by the Gram Sabha in every Panchayat. Everyone, the government included, knows that the Gram Sabha is a wonderful concept that remains to date on paper. Besides, the sarpanch is the Chairperson of the Gram Sabha, so this amounts to saying that he would have the final say in forming a committee which would audit works implemented by him! What’s more, the state announced social audits sought to restrict any participation from outside, paradoxically, quoting the rights of the Gram Sabha (a weak institution in reality) as supreme.

“The restricting of participation of anyone with informed opinion and data, in the social audit process is the denial of a citizen’s right to monitor public funds. The decision should be taken by the local inhabitants of the Panchayat in the Gram Sabha, but authentic information cannot be denied voice or blocked in any review of public spending…. citizens of India cannot be restricted from contributing to the process and sharing information with people,” wrote NAC member and social activist Aruna Roy in a recent communication to C.S. Rajan, Principal Secretary Rural Development, Government of Rajasthan.

But what renders the State Government’s present social audit framework entirely unworkable is that it goes against the basic tenets of audit, which calls for a total separation of the implementing and the auditing agencies. A perusal of circulars and orders issued by the state government on its scheduled social audits shows that this principle stands completely violated — everyone from the social audit facilitators at the Panchayat level to the grievance redressal authorities have been drawn from the very system that it is supposed to audit. How can one then even remotely expect the process to be free, fair or meaningful? Sure enough, for these reasons, combined with open resistance, the social audits planned in the state from August 26 onwards flopped.

Diluted

In the meanwhile, the working group on transparency and accountability of the Central Employment Guarantee Council, headed by Aruna Roy, submitted a report to the Central Government in July highlighting the shortcomings of the social audit process in the light of the section 13b amendment. Significantly, a communiqué from C.S. Rajan to the Rural Development Secretary, Government of India in February had actually provided the basis for a reformulation of section 13b, upon which a set of recommendations were jointly worked out by the working group members and the rural development department. They envisage a government-supported but autonomous Directorate of Social Audit in every state, the formation of social audit committees independent of the implementing agencies or persons and an open and inclusive process where any individual can participate, testify and place on record their observations at the social audit forums. However, in a later communication to the Central Government on July 22, the Principal Secretary has suggested further modifications, once again introducing scope for serious dilutions.

The working group’s report has been discussed in three rounds of meetings so far with C.P. Joshi and other representatives of the Central Government. Even prior to this, Aruna Roy had written to C.P. Joshi twice, flagging the urgency of bringing in social audit rules and reformulating Section 13b. On December 30, 2009, she wrote emphasising the violation of the principles of audit by Section 13b as it stands and the lack of openness it implied, calling for an immediate change. A draft of NREGA Social Audit Rules, as worked out by a working group of the MoRD in March 2008 was also sent to him, that, if introduced immediately, wouldn’t have given any scope for the surreptitious amendment to section 13b. In March 2010, she again wrote to the Minister along with the interim recommendations of the CEGC working group, stating, “The group, in the light of the above deliberations, has passed a resolution to request MoRD to amend the clause 13(b) of Schedule of the Act immediately as per the attached recommendation, so that public monitoring and effective social audits face no legal bottlenecks…” Over two years have passed since the MoRD working group’s draft social audit rules were framed and close to a year since urgent requests to rework section 13b have been repeatedly sounded out to the Minister. This silence and inaction can only be seen as an affront and plain disrespect for people who depend on the MGNREGS for their sustenance.

The present impasse

Clearly, the social audit of MGNREGS works has reached a deadlock which doesn’t augur well at all for the scheme and the lakhs of people who depend on it as their lifeline. In Rajasthan, which had a head start in the process compared to many other states, the SR Abhiyan realised early on that going it alone had its limitations. The reach was limited, the follow-up was often slipshod and nothing much happened beyond suspending the lower level functionaries and political representatives. While the strength and awareness that the local people acquired by these one-off social audits was immense, it needed an institutionalised mechanism to keep it sustaining and truly empowering. On its side, the government has the reach and resources to take social audits to every corner of the state. The wall painting of MGNREGS works down to the last detail in each and every Panchayat is a case in point. Moreover, the government also realised the advantages of ‘partnering’ with the NGOs with their prior experience in conducting such audits, but it has been unable to stick to its stand in the face of constant pressure from vested interests and the Section 13b amendment.

Silver Lining: The Andhra Experience

For those who see this as a hopeless situation, there are important lessons to be learnt from Andhra Pradesh. AP has put in place a system where an autonomous Society for Social Audit, Accountability and Transparency (SSAT), led by a social activist (and not a government servant) has institutionalised social audit of MGNREGA in such a way that maximises government support but minimises its interference. Importantly, it has kept up a separation of the implementing and auditing bodies and proved that ordinary labourers when imparted with the right skills can conduct effective social audits. Today, social audits are done regularly in all districts of AP. Social audit teams are selected from among villagers based on a randomised process and trained by district resource persons, themselves selected and trained by SSAT. They are then allotted villages to conduct the social audits, thus avoiding the pitfalls of Gram Sabha selection, auditing in one’s own village etc.

The effects, to say the least, have been dramatic. As of June 30, 2010, Rs. 82 crores worth of misappropriated funds have come to light, of which around Rs. 15 crores has been recovered; 33,807 field-level functionaries have been implicated; 3,842 staff have been dismissed based on the social audit findings and 1,430 suspended. A total of 548 FIRs have been lodged and 1,220 departmental enquiries have been initiated. All this has been possible by 60,000 village social auditors (wage earners trained in social audit) trained by 700-odd district and state resource persons largely drawn from civil society organisations and 22 technical resource persons. Nothing could establish with more clarity, the benefits of institutionalising social audit in an open and participatory way. Andhra Pradesh’s initiatives and its outcomes silences in one stroke all the opponents of social audit in the rest of the country. It is noteworthy that this approach to social audit is expounded in the ‘NREGS-AP Conducting of Social Audit Rules’ adopted in 2008, based on the very recommendations of the MoRD working group which is facing clandestine resistance at the central and other state levels.

In conclusion, it appears that the single most important ingredient missing in the social audit attempts in Rajasthan is the absence of a strong political and administrative will. Andhra has shown what a state can achieve with a strong resolve, versus a weak one.

The Rajasthan government in turn could spin the present impasse it sees itself in, into a golden opportunity by taking a bold step to bypass the sarpanches with their corrupt intentions and reach its voters directly. If the voters will not forgive the government for running a fund-flushed scheme for vested interests rather than for its actual intended beneficiaries, they are also bound to be won over if the benefits actually accrue to them. It is a hard decision to make, but institutionalising social audits in a foolproof way, rather than bending to a bunch of sarpanches, is the only way out.

Invitation

The Suchna Evum Rozgar ka Adhikar Abhiyan (S. R. Abhiyan) begins a Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha from the 2^nd of October, 2010 near the Statue Circle in Jaipur Rajasthan.

The S. R. Abhiyan organized a Mazdoor Haq Yatra, in which there were 5 groups – one each in Ajmer, Jodhpur, Kota, Rajsamand and Udaipur. The yatras started on the 15^th of September, 2010 and will be converging near the Statue Circle in Jaipur on October 2^nd. The response to these yatras has been overwhelming. Workers and farmers across the state have endorsed the critical need to establish dignity and justice for themselves. These discussions have built up a discourse enriched by people’s analysis of crucial issues under assault and debate, such as the control and right to access resources of the state and the consequent question of equitable sharing. This has strengthened the Abhiyan’s resolve to establish non-negotiable entitlements for basic life and livelihood. The people who have attended the yatra meetings in street corners of small towns and villages have supported these yatras with contributions of food, shelter, fuel and money, so that each yatra has been self-sufficient.

The significance of the Satyagraha beginning on 2^nd October is manifold. The Satyagraha raises issues of the “last person”    so critical a focus of Gandhiji’s life and work. It is also an ironical comment on a government wanting to deny permission to a non-violent “satyagraha” beginning on Gandhi Jayanti to draw attention to the basic entitlements of ordinary people and the ethics of governance! We say this because there have been attempts by some individuals in the government to refuse us permission to use the place for the Satyagraha.

The first issue will, therefore, be the right for the marginalised and the unheard to have and access platforms of dissent and non-violent protest. By merely prefixing MG to the NREGA the government has not “improved” upon legal entitlements of workers since the real entitlements for labour are being steadily undermined.

The central government has de-linked minimum wages from wages under the MGNREGA. In addition the “wage rate” has been frozen for almost two years. Even the so called “wage rate” is systematically violated with people being paid as little as one rupee a day, and an average payment of Rs. 75 per day being paid in Rajasthan making even the Rs. 100 a day a charade. The S. R. Abhiyan is unwilling to let any employer (much less the government) undermine the sanctity of minimum wages for any worker in the state and country.

The other broad concern is the manifest corruption which derails and denies access to entitlements and benefits. In this broad area are the rights that lie with the newly acquired RTI regime; and the ensuing entitlements within the MGNREGA for transparency and accountability. This is a general empowerment under RTI to citizens to access and use information to monitor governance. Of specific concern is the exercise of social audit, a mandate entitled in the MGNREGA. Innumerable problems have been created both at the level of amendments to the schedule of the Act in the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, and in the organised reaction of those who are being monitored for mismanagement and fraud at the village and panchayat levels. This is a reflection too of the feudal and repressive nature not only of the social structure, but of governance itself.

The satyagraha will also be a platform which will raise issues of dignity and basic entitlements for the primary producers in the country – the mazdoors, who are also very often kisans; the sanctity of democratic space, peaceful protest and the accountability of democratic structures to the people of the country. We hope you can join us from Gandhi Jayanti onwards at this important Satyagraha.

This Satyagraha will continue indefinitely until at least two of the above demands are addressed: a direct and clear commitment from the government to implement social audits and an increase in minimum wages for workers under MGNREGA. On different days of the indefinite Satyagraha we have planned activities of different duration. On the first day, 99 workers who got paid Re.1/day for 11 days work in Tonk district intend to come and donate their earnings to the CM’s Relief Fund towards the payment of government employees’ daily allowance (D.A.). One the first day we will also announce and begin to setup:

• a Mazdoori Jan Aayog [People’s Commission on Wages] to discuss the sanctity of minimum wages and to fix wages for workers.
• a Chote Kisan Jan Aayog to take up issues of farmers, including land, subsidies, seeds, fertilizers, insurance, credit and minimum support prices [M.S.P.].
• a Panchayati Raj Sashaktikaran Sammelan for real the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj Institutions [P.R.I.s].
• Public Hearings on MGNREGA to look into the status of implementations of the ten entitlements under MGNREGA
• a People’s Commission on the Implementation of the RTI Act and a charter for transparent governance through proper implementation of Section 4 of the Act, which is about proactive disclosure.
• the demand for setting up of an Accountability Commission to decide tasks and measure work that government ‘servants’ do. This happens for MGNREGA workers, so why not have accountability and penalty for government servants as well?
• discussions on issues related to Food Security. This will be done in partnership with the Right to Food Campaign and the themes in the discourse will include the right to minimum nutritional entitlements and issues of food productivity, procurement, storage & distribution.
• last but not least, sessions on the theme of ‘Save Democracy’. There have been systematic attempts to muzzle peaceful protest. This is done by cultivating a mind set in those who administer to convert all protest into a law and order issue, thereby defusing and sometimes destroying the rule of law. Refusing us permission to peacefully protest is just an example. Distinction between peaceful demonstrations and violent protest must be made, and space must be provided for the former if democracy is to function effectively.

The mandate and message we carry with us from the people we met during the yatras is unambiguous: Take our message to Jaipur and we will come there to join the Satyagraha. Not only have daily wage labourers promised to come, they have even offered to support us in cash and through other means.

We are making an appeal to all supporters of these issues to give time, spread the word, join the campaign and to donate at least one day’s wages (more is of course welcome) to support what may turn out to be a long and decisive struggle for dignity and justice. Please let us know as soon as possible if and when you would like to come so that we can plan the logistics. Contact details are given below. Media persons are advised to contact the control room. This is not to restrict the numbers who might want to come, but to facilitate planning. We would be strengthened by your support and participation. We look forward to seeing you at the Satyagraha.

Aruna Roy,  Bhanwar Meghwanshi, Hariom Soni, Moti Lal, Richa Odichya, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh, Ram Karan and R D Vyas, Naveen Narayan, Renuka Pamecha, Rawata Ram.

(On behalf of the Rozgar Evum Suchna ke Adhikar ka Abhiyan, Rajasthan)

Contact details

Suchna evum Rozgar ka Adhikar Abhiyan (S R Abhiyan)
Address: 20, Narain Nagar, Badgaon, District Udaipur, Rajasthan
Fax: +91 294 2451391
Email: srabhiyan@gmail.com

RTI Manch
Address: Plot number S-9, Rajshree Apartments, Jyoti Nagar Extension, Behind Amroodo ka Baag, Jaipur – 300205
Landline: +91 141 2740019
Mobile: +91 9252489519
Email: rtiraj@gmail.com

Control Room

Address: Samagra Sewa Sangh, Gokul Basti, Durgapura, Jaipur, Rajasthan – 302018

Landlines: +91 141 2552878, 2385254

For regular updates about the Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha visit srabhiyan.wordpress.com. Sign up on the website to keep receiving regular email alerts.

Click here to Download Invitation to Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha in PDF