Summary:
The block Public Accountability and Information Centers run by people's movement activists provides three types of information services:
1. Assist people in filing RTI applications where government data is not available,
2. If the data is available through previous RTI applications or from government websites, make such data easily accessible to public,
3. Provide information obtained from social audit of government schemes such as NREGS, Mid-day Meal and ICDS - actual list of job card holders and number of days worked is an example of verified information. Audit information on programs such as M.P. and MLA funds. Highlight discrepancies in lists of beneficiaries that are the basis of government grants and benefits (for eg. the correct Below Poverty Line ration card list of a village) and allow the government officials to correct their information.
PROPOSAL FOR PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND INFORMATION CENTERS
Prepared by Asha Parivar
January 23, 2007
INTRODUCTION
The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 came into effect after years of campaigning by grassroots groups. This campaign has been a very empowering experience for the common people. Provisions of this act make the officials answerable by requiring transparency when members of public, often assisted by people’s organizations, seek information. People have exercised their right to file RTI applications and inspect the works of the local administration making the bureaucrats and politicians answerable to them.
Once the information like details of expenditure of Gram Panchayat accounts becomes available people’s organizations play an important role in demanding accountability. Usually, public hearings, public scrutiny or social audits have been conducted to expose the extent and nature of irregularities and corruption. The public scrutiny and social audits have brought the officials and elected representatives within the domain of accountability.
We also have the example of Lokvani, a web based grievance redressal mechanism initiated by the young and dynamic District Magistrate of Sitapur, Amod Kumar in 1994, which received complaints from 40,000 people, mostly with little education from rural areas, during its first year of operation. Amod Kumar also made a number of information public suo moto and the Lokvani website brought about certain transparency in administration. Muster rolls for public works could be accessed from website. The experiment was repeated in two neighbouring districts with equal success.
Given the power of information in helping create a better environment of governance, Asha Parivar proposes to set up Public Accountability and Information Centers, at Block levels. These centers will a) make information easily available to people and include information provided by the government suo moto or through filing RTI applications as well as that generated from public scrutiny or social audit and b) facilitate the social audit and public comment on various public interest activities in the block.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The Controller & Auditor General of India (CAG) scrutinizes government expenditures. Some ‘audit observations’ from the CAG reports highlight the following colossal misuse of public funds:
* Funds released by District rural development agencies without accounting for the unutilized balances at the Panchayat Unions from previous cycles.
* Unaccounted large sums of advances given for various purposes.
* Absent or inadequate records such as Muster Rolls, Measurement Books, and Works Register.
* Work executed without administrative approval and technical sanction as required.
* Diversion of funds in Indira Awas Yojana and in Tenth Finance Commission Grants
* Incomplete works abandoned after huge expenditure
* Unspent grants not credited to government accounts
* Procurement of material without inviting Tenders/Quotations
* Accounts not maintained properly, no bank reconciliation statements
* Receipts and payments not entered in the Cash Books
[Reference: “Social Audit - Gram Sabha and Pachayati Raj” Report by Vision Foundation, Oct 2005.]
Leakage of 85% to 87% of development funds has been widely reported, creating a large gap between spending outlays and actual expenditure. Such irregularities highlight the immense magnitude of corruption. There is urgent need to improve the delivery of services and to implement programs effectively by strengthening community participation (demand side participation) in planning, design and monitoring. Forms of participation that help secure state responsibility include access to information and social audits of the available information.
BACKGROUND OF ASHA PARIVAR
Asha Parivar activities in several districts of U.P. focus on citizen empowerment through Right to Information. Our extensive grassroots presence in rural Hardoi over the last eight years has enabled us to mobilize volunteers interested in social change in their blocks and villages. Asha Parivar members have now been active in fourteen (14) blocks across six districts of U.P. for over a year spearheading right to information campaigns. During the July 2006 Nationwide Right to Information Campaign, half of the RTI applications (ten thousand of the twenty thousand filed country-wide) were filed in U.P. with Asha parivar members taking leadership roles in multiple districts. Extensive social audits of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) implementation are underway in six Hardoi, Sitapur, and Unnao districts. Members in most of these fourteen (14) blocks are also engaged in education programs for empowerment of their village or city population.
Objectives of Asha parivar public accountability campaign
* Achieve transparency and accountability at the rural, block and district levels.
* Reduce misappropriation and diversion of development funds directed to the blocks
* Greater participation of people in their struggle for rights and services
* Introduce the successful methods of social audit and public hearing in multiple districts of UP
* Train the civil society in keeping documents and accounts; spread awareness on practices and legal provisions of the local governance institutions through social audit campaigns
* Provide opportunity for public comment on all government schemes and services to improve the planning and delivery of the supply side
* Ensure the resources allocated in schemes and programs reach women, dalits and poor
Strategies in Right to Information Efforts
* Mobilization and Empowerment of people whose lives are affected.
* Awareness campaign and training programs related to people’s right to information, National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG), Mid-Day Meal and Public Distribution Shops (PDS) programs.
* A powerful tool of ‘Janata Jaanch’ introduced involving people and questioning authorities.
* Systematic use of RTI achieving a balance between social cause RTI applications and individual grievance applications.
* Aggregation of social audit reports at block level to produce local governance score card.
* Constant dialogue and struggle demanding rights with District and State authorities.
* Focus on dalits, women and poor.
PROPOSED CENTERS
The block Public Accountability and Information Centers would serve following functions:
1. Assist people in filing RTI applications and audit various government programs and their implementation status,
2. Help provide Information on block development office Statement of Expenditures and assist in audit of information obtained,
3. Provide information on public services available to citizens and encourage filing of RTI applications as necessary. Help obtain status of grievance redressal and pursue pending cases as requested by the citizens, and
4. Train people in tools to access information on their own and train activists in social audit and public hearing methods.
We describe below in further detail, the scope of activities in these four thematic areas and highlight case studies of a recent activity in each theme.
Every Block level center would be run by trained and experienced volunteers currently active in these blocks and present at the center round the clock.
Function 1: Information on Programs and Audits
Scope of work:
* Obtain detailed program information through RTI applications. Help people monitor the various government programs, like the mid-day meal, NREGS, PDS, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), etc. through RTI applications and audits.
* Maintain the website and update the information regularly. Feed information brought from the field giving an opportunity to honest officials to take corrective action. For example, a true BPL list for a Gram Panchayat could be posted next to the faulty list prepared by vested interests.
* Augment the implementation of programs and schemes through information generated by the area residents, for example documenting additional works eligible for NREGA scheme.
Hardoi team and area residents have conducted awareness and social audit campaigns of NREGA program in Sandila and Bharawan blocks. For instance, people organized a dharna on Apr 29 and May 1, 2005 and publicly pressured the Block Development Officer (BDO) after which he distributed people job cards in about 51 panchayats. In this exercise alone, one thousand job cards have been made allowing people to work and receive payment. The team also monitors the Public Distribution Shops program and tracks the amounts received and distributed. An extensive social audit NREGA implementation in two blocks in Hardoi was completed in Nov 2006 (report below).
Case Study: Hardoi NREGA social audit
Highlights of the findings of social audit of two blocks of Hardoi district are copied here.
(1) Most of the people in the 50 Village Panchayats that were covered during the Social Audit exercise in Bharawan and Sandila Blocks of Hardoi District were not even aware of the NREGA. In fact, some Gram Pradhans also did not have a complete knowledge of all the provisions of the Act. Most of them were treating it like any other government scheme.
(2) Most of the people had not applied for Job Cards. Those who had applied were still awaiting their Job Cards. The Gram Pradhans are usually favoring their family members and people who voted for them during the Panchayat elections for making of the Job Cards, like it happens in selecting beneficiaries for most government schemes.
(3) Names of all adult members of the family, especially the women members, are not being mentioned on the Job Cards. No Job Cards were issued to any woman even in women headed households. Name of only one woman was mentioned in a Job Card in Tiloiyakalan Gram Panchayat. The husband of the Gram Pradhan of Purwaman Village Panchayat declared in an open meeting that it was not possible for him to make Job Cards in the name of women.
(4) There is a discrepancy between the number of Job Cards shown to be issued in the Block Office records and the register which is available with the Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari (VDO).
Complete report is available at: http://ashaparivar.org/files/report.doc
Function 2: Public Expenditures and contracting
* Provide help in drafting RTI applications and identifying the correct Public Information Officers with whom to file the applications. Help pursue the RTI application and file appeals as needed.
* Obtain detailed Statement of Expenditures records of block office and gram panchayats and verify the expenses through social audits.
* Obtain records and assist in verification of MLA and other development fund accounts
* Ensure transparency of public contracting practices including open bidding, evaluation and competitive selection of private contractors, as requested by public. Assist people in inspecting contract records through RTI applications.
Funds to the tune of thirty-two crores came into Hardoi and volunteers have asked for details of the same. For instance, they have filed right to information petitions for 40 Gram Panchayats and have obtained information on income-expenditure for 30 of them because of pressure from Asha Parivar. Instance of social audit of six gram panchayats is highlighted in the case study below.
It took more than a year to obtain the information and now the team is conducting a social audit to check the government records against actual expenses. They have also filed RTI applications for the zilla panchayat and MLA funds.
Case Study: Public Expenditure social audit
A detailed report of People's Investigation (Janata Jaanch) done in six village panchayats:
Information that was sought:
1. Bill - vouchers, receipts and payments register, muster roll, proceedings register and list of BPL card holders. In Bharawan, Mohammadapur, Aira Kakemau , Sahgawan, Shivpuriya, Parsa, Lalamau Mawai, Godwa Khem villages of Bharawan development block and Sikroria and Purwamaan villages of Sandila development block.
2. In Sandila block, after filing of affidavit, the Block Development Officer was asked thrice to present the statement of income and expenditure.
3. In Bharawan development block the muster roll and statement of income and expenditure with all bills/vouchers was asked for construction of two roads between Jakhwa power house to Sagargadhi and from block office to village Jajupur.
Information that was made available:
1. Income and expenditure statements of village panchayats Bharawan, Mohammadapur, Itaunja Shivpuriya, and Godwa Khem (all villages of Bharawan development block) and of village panchayats Sikroria and Purwa Maan (both villages of Sandila block).
Government investigation:
Because the information provided by the government was at considerable variance with the ground reality, inquiries were demanded at all places. Open investigation was carried out at only at Bharawan and a bungling of Rs. 284,311 was discovered. At Sikroria the discovered bungling was only of Rs. 1900. The village-Pradhans (heads) were punished at both the places. But later on the actions were reversed at both the places. At Bharawan it was due to judicial intervention and at Sikroria it was due to administrative action under political pressure.
People's Investigation (Janata Jaanch)
Disappointed by the administrative and the judicial intervention, the people decided to physically verify the information provided by the government machinery. The findings of this exercise called People's Investigation (Janata Jaanch) are as under:
Village Panchayat Date of investigation Estimated Bungling(Rs.)
Sikroria 14 July 2004 169,102.00
Bharawan 16 July 2004 292,271.00
Godwa Khem 30 July 2004 92,800.00
Purwa Maan 03 August 2004 67,974.00
Mohammadapur 28 August 2004 72,764.00
Itaunja Shivpuriya 04 September 2004 20,024.00
TOTAL (amount lost to corruption) = Rs. 714,935.00
Function 3: Public Services and Grievance Redressal
The Asha parivar volunteers help people with their complaints on Lokvani, where effective, and through regular channels. For example, helping people get their FIRs registered or get possession of their lands encroached by other, by pursuing the concerned officials.
The computerized grievance redressal systems are being implemented by a few district administration officials. Our team members will assist people in filing complaints and help achieve redressal through case follow-up. As acknowledged by the administration officials, the response to a grievance complaint by officials is only the first stage of redressal and comprehensive long term pursuit is required for actual delivery of service or settlement of complaint.
Case Study: Grievances Redressal in Sitapur and Hardoi districts
Case follow-up is currently done by asha team members in Hardoi, Varanasi, Chandauli and Deoria districts on ad-hoc basis. A computer assisted case tracking at the proposed Public Accountability and Information Centers will allow volunteers to pursue multiple complaints and reduce duplication of efforts.
Function 4: Awareness and Training
* Make information accessible from public domain as well as that obtained through RTI applications easily available to people.
* Publish booklets of standard practices for RTI applications and audits.
* Train rural young women and men as well as children to use computers so that they may access information available on government websites on their own by going to any cyber café.
* Train activists in social audit, public hearings, account keeping and inspection of records.
OVERALL IMPACT
* People are raising voice, prioritizing development needs, asking questions, demanding accountability.
* Situation is improving slowly but steadily. Schemes, funds meant for people are reaching the needy.
* Vested interests, political powerful section and repressive ruling class were forced to take notice of the people’s voice.
* Government administration, after initial apathy, is forced to take action and is now cooperating realizing that the movement is in effect strengthening democracy at the grassroots.
* Poor people are standing up for their rights moving in the direction of realizing their dreams of a just, peaceful, secular and democratic society.
The public accountability movement has resulted in openness and transparency of the operations of the pradhans (village heads) and other administrative officials in the area, resulting in verification of government expenditure in crores of rupees, better functioning of a variety of services from road construction projects to primary health care centers and government schools. The impact of the villagers' increased awareness of their rights over the last 8 years, and the changes they can bring about, has been such that in the current atmosphere in the area, pradhans are pledging to have open accounts and meetings involving the villagers. Democracy is being strengthened at the grassroots giving people a voice.
SCALABILITY
The information and accountability campaigns have become self-perpetuating where people from many blocks have taken inspiration from Hardoi district efforts and have shown consistent interest in their village or town’s economic situation.
Some support for the operation expenses for the centers will be raised from the revenue collected from the public served at these centers (Rs 10 per RTI application and Rs 1 per page.
BLOCKS AND CITIES CHOSEN FOR IMPLEMENTATION
The proposal is to stabilize this effort in the following locations:
1) Centers at 14 blocks in U.P.:
* Bharawan, Sandila, Kothawan and Behender of Hardoi District.
* Cholapur and Araji Line of Varanasi District.
* Selempur of Deoria District.
* Chakiya of Chandauli District.
* Bilari of Moradabad District.
* Miyaganj of Unnao District.
* Gondla Mau of Sitapur.
* Reoti and Sinhachawar of Ballia District.
* Haldharpur of Mau District.
2) Hyderabad
3) Patna
In addition, there will be a central state level coordination center based in Lucknow and two zonal coordination centers (at Kanpur and Varanasi), which will be constantly linked to all block level centers.