In a nutshell, it refers to the steps that are taken to ensure that the work done by the government is actually

benefiting the people whom it is intended to benefit. Social Audit is nothing but understanding, measuring, reporting, and most importantly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the local governance.

According to Prof. Ranjan Mohapatra Social Audit is a process in which the details of the resources, financial and non-financial, used by the public agencies for the development initiatives, are shared with the people, often through a public platform

Huge disconnect between what the people need, what the government thinks it needs, and what is actually done.

Accurate identification of requirements Prioritization of developmental activities as per requirements Proper utilization of funds Conformity of the developmental activity with the stated goals Quality of service

Involvement of people in developmental activities ensures that money is spent where is it actually needed. Reduction of wastages. Reduction in corruption. Awareness among people. Promotes integrity and a sense of community among people. Improves the standard of governance.

1. Empowerment of people
2. Proper Documentation 3. Accessibility of Documents 4. Punitive Action

Clarity of purpose and goal of the local elected body Identify stakeholders with a focus on their specific roles and duties Definition of performance indicators Regular meetings to review and discuss data/information on performance indicators Follow-up of social audit meeting with the panchayat body Establishment of a group of trusted local people The findings of the social audit should be shared with all local stakeholders

 Mindset of people Lack of any legal proceedings

for not following

social audit principles Lack of education among the common masses

social audit is an immediately result oriented exercise and even a report prepared tentatively and with a lack of selfassurance will have something to contribute. The principal difficulty, is the non-existence of appropriate social accounting and reporting systems or even a rudimentary system of evaluation of the social changes created. Making this the central thrust of the first attempt at social audit by examining a number of programmes from the point of view of a lack of monitoring and evaluation machinery and methodology will surely be a straight forward way of gaining acceptability for social audit as an important tool in the management of national affairs.