By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: Nearly five years of inactive registration, a high vacancy rate, and weak monitoring mechanisms have emerged as major concerns in the functioning of Assam’s Social Audit Unit (SAU), according to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India report.
The findings were detailed in the CAG’s report on Local Bodies for the period ending March 2024, which examined the performance of the agency responsible for conducting social audits of rural development programmes in the state.
One of the key issues flagged by the audit was the prolonged lapse of the unit’s registration under the Societies Act.
The report noted that the registration ceased to remain valid in December 2019 and was not renewed for almost five years.
The audit attributed the situation largely to the failure to convene governing body meetings regularly. As a result, important processes such as approval of budgets and certification of annual accounts were affected.
Describing the irregularity as a sign of inadequate oversight, the CAG stressed the need for governing body meetings to be conducted at prescribed intervals so that financial approvals and institutional monitoring can take place without delay.
The report also drew attention to the continued absence of a final manpower policy. Although a proposal had been prepared in August 2017 and examined by the Finance Department, it remains pending.
Staff shortages have further weakened the unit’s functioning, the audit observed. With vacancies accounting for 43 per cent of sanctioned posts, especially among field-level personnel, the SAU has faced difficulties in completing social audits within scheduled timelines and achieving its targets.
To address the issue, the CAG recommended expediting recruitment and finalising the manpower policy to ensure adequate staffing for audit activities.
Another shortcoming identified in the report was the non-implementation of a Code of Ethics for social audit facilitators.
The audit noted that such a framework is required under social audit standards and should be introduced by the unit.
The review also found deficiencies in the monitoring of audit outcomes. According to the report, the State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC) did not adequately track action taken on social audit findings, while the SAU failed to submit quarterly reports in the format prescribed by the Ministry of Rural Development.
The CAG further observed that the effectiveness of social audits has been reduced by weak follow-up mechanisms. Limited public hearings at block and district levels, along with poor recovery of funds flagged during audits, were cited as major concerns.
The report called for stronger follow-up measures, including regular public hearings across different administrative levels, to ensure that audit findings lead to corrective action.
It also pointed to inadequate cooperation from some village panchayats, which reportedly did not provide records sought by social audit teams.
According to the audit, this reflects a lack of awareness about the social audit process among Panchayati Raj institutions.
The report noted that recovery of misappropriated funds remained below four per cent, while weak state-level supervision and ineffective awareness initiatives further reduced the impact of the audit system.
The Social Audit Unit came into existence in December 2016 to carry out audits under the MGNREGS Audit of Scheme Rules, 2011.
Administrative oversight of the organisation rests with a governing body led by the Chief Secretary, while its day-to-day functioning is managed by an independent director.