Ranald Lopes sdb
CHOTTAUDEPUR, NOVEMBER 17, 2009: With the release of the Gujarat Government’s order calling for social audits of the NREGA across the state, Lok Seva Kendra (LSK) Chhota Udepur began facilitating the process by organising a training programme on 5th November for members of the Village Vigilance and Monitoring Committees (VVMC) from villages in Chhota Udepur Taluka.
The session was conducted by the staff of LSK, who had themselves attended a similar programme as members of the Taluka Resource Group. More than 120 committee members from 19 Panchayats, as well as the TDO and other local officials, attended the session. The objective of the programme was to enable the committee members to understand the concept of a social audit and prepare them to conduct the audits in their own villages.
Since then, LSK has also been involved in facilitating the actual audit process in 22 Panchayats in the taluka. This experience has revealed that much more preparation is necessary to strengthen the committees, improve the audit process and ensure transparency in the implementation of the NREGA. At present, LSK is involved in ensuring that true and verifiable audit reports are presented during the ongoing Gram Sabhas in Chhota Udepur Taluka.