The Hindu Business Line : Kerala treasuries come under microscope

Kerala’s Treasury Social Audit Programme can strike a trailblazing path in establishing standards of participatory and democratic processes in local governance and civic public action.

K.G. Kumar

Last week Kerala’s Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac launched the Treasury Social Audit Programme in Thiruvananthapuram, making the State the first in the country to place an entire government department – the Kerala Treasury Department – under the microscope of social audit, with an independent jury to scrutinise the service delivery system.

This unique initiative, proposed by the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission, began seven months ago, when all the 207 treasury branches in the State put up on their notice boards a Citizens’ Rights Charter, which made their customers and clients aware of their rights and service entitlements.

Independent jury

As a follow-up, an independent jury, chaired by former Chief Secretary C.P. Nair, probed into the working of the Principal Sub-treasury in Thiruvananthapuram to analyse if it could fulfill the commitments it had made in the charter.

Complainants and Treasury officials deliberated before a public audience, which was allowed to intervene in the discussions with queries and clarifications.

Having heard all parties, the jury will now submit a report to the Thiruvananthapuram Sub-treasury. Based on that report, officials of the sub-treasury will prepare an ‘action taken report’, which will be placed before the next social audit session a year later.

Walayar Initiative

On the initiative of Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, the Walayar check-post of the Sales Tax Department had initiated a similar social audit exercise a few months ago. The audit has reportedly brought down complaints of corruption, raised revenue for the government and mitigated the travails of truckers who, in the past, often had to queue up for several hours to get past the multilayered net of corrupt officialdom.

It is this same objective of transparency and honest efficiency that the treasuries social audit is seeking to promote. This is certainly an important initiative, considering that all the money transactions of the government take place through the treasuries, and over 20 lakh residents of Kerala – pensioners, contractors, tax payers, among others – annually transact business through the treasuries.

In a social audit, citizens work with the government to monitor and evaluate the planning and implementation of a scheme or programme, or a policy or law. A social audit is normally conducted over the lifespan of a scheme or programme, and not just in one go or at one stage.

Useful tool

As an evaluation of a system, process or project, a social audit can help ascertain the validity and reliability of information, and also provide an assessment of a system’s internal control.

It audits the process, the outputs and the outcome of a project, as well as its planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. A social audit also raises awareness of rights, entitlements and obligations under a scheme.

Significantly, any social audit process depends critically on the demystification of jargon-laden official doublespeak and the wide dissemination of all relevant information to all the stakeholders involved.

A social audit is an empowering process that allows potential beneficiaries to express their views and opinion on any specific work or activities executed by the project for them. It elicits a commitment from the implementing agency to plan how best to deliver its services and how to garner feedback from the intended beneficiaries.

Trailblazer

From this perspective, Kerala’s Treasury Social Audit Programme can strike a trailblazing path in establishing standards of participatory and democratic processes in local governance and civic public action.

While the findings of a social or public audit are not acceptable as evidence under any law, such an audit can apply a great degree of social and public pressure on the political establishment to act responsibly and take corrective steps where needed.

As a society that was, in a sense, groomed on public action and civil society interventions, Kerala can look forward to the Treasury Social Audit Programme taking it one step ahead on the path of good governance.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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