Need for Conducting Social Audit through RTI for Improving Public Services

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Need for Conducting Social Audit through RTI for Improving Public Services 

The use of Right to Information Act, 2005 can be helpful in tracking and handling common problems faced by the citizens, in public interest. The citizens’ often experience hurdles and bottlenecks at grass root level, especially in public dealing organizations. They are unable to get the day-to-day services rendered by the government, after spending billions of rupees, as a matter of right. Experience shows that there is hardly any organization which does not need reforms. Social audits can be helpful in fixing responsibilities and making the offenders accountable. 

Need for social audit for various services: Social audits conducted  by the citizens/society can be helpful in highlighting the pathetic conditions of the citizens in numerous fields such as shortage of electricity, non-availability/shortage of water supply, traffic congestion, sewer jams, road congestion due to rickshaws, poor conditions of roads & pedestrian paths, underutilization of underground paths, encroachments, poor sanitation & hygiene, non-lifting of garbage, adulteration, ill maintained parks, and what not. 

Many of the issues need to be questioned through RTI Act so that the ills get redressed and the concept of accountability gets introduced. The citizens needs to collect lot of information through RTI and conduct social audit to find out the ground realities. They can work as social auditors, vigilance officers, watchful citizen, etc. 

An experiment of a society conducted by Parivartan: Such an audit was done by a society known as Parivartan in M Block Sunder Nagari, Delhi. They collected lot of data about expenditure made by MCD etc. on installation of hand pumps, construction of roads & Dhalao, maintenance of Parks, etc. by paying a huge cost. After getting the data they cross checked the works done by the agencies, through an interaction with the residents of M block, to find out the ground realities. To their dismay a major chunk of funds had not been, actually, spent but shown as expenditure. This helped them in getting the offenders booked and getting the in-complete works redone. 

Areas needing social audit: Some of the experiences shared by the citizens, during personal interaction reflect need for conducting social audit in some of the following areas: 

Health and Medical Sector: The recent Covid-19 experience has highlighted that lot needs to be done to improve facilities in Heath & Medical sector.  One is constrained to learn that the hospitals often face shortage of lifesaving drugs, oxygen, equipment, beds, ICU beds etc.  Lifesaving equipment often remain out of order in government hospitals. Doctors have to refer the patients to private clinics, quite often for various types of tests.  This provides them a chance for manipulative tendencies. 

The ambulances and hearse vans continue to remain off the road for want of timely repairs whereas the staff cars get repaired in hours. The posts of Medical and Para Medical officers and staff created for the benefit of the patients remain vacant for years while many unscrupulous staff members work in private clinics, in a clandestine manner. 

It is well known that the government spends billions on creation of infrastructure and purchase of equipment for the benefit of citizens which hardly reaches them. Most of the equipment remain underutilized or even out of order even during the warranty period. Little attention is paid for proper upkeep and maintenance of equipment. 

Experience shows that while private hospitals and nursing homes use their equipment on 7x24 hour’s basis throughout the year, the government hospitals would use them for 5-6 hours per day during 240 working days. All such activities needs to be questioned and highlighted for streamlining the systems. 

Poor construction and maintenance of infrastructure, roads, bridges etc.:  Lot of mismanagement takes place in construction projects. The buildings and bridges built by the Indians during British regime are still intact while those built in post-independence era need dismantling as they have out lived their life. The railway bridge on river Yamuna in Delhi is a live example. It is surviving beyond its prescribed life and may continue for another quarter century while large number of buildings, roads and bridges have either been dismantled or redone, because of poor quality of construction.

Moreover, no one has ever been held accountable for such inferior works, as those responsible for such acts appear to be hand in glove with the contractors. 

Mismanagement of Agriculture produce: In the sector of food and agriculture while the poor and the needy are starving for hunger, the stocks piling up in government go-downs are depleting because of pilferage, eating by rats, insects and other creatures. Food grains are found to be rotting under open sky in rains, storms and due to other natural calamities. Hardly anyone has ever been made accountable for such lapses. 

The missing stocks are just written off. It seems rats and beast enjoys preference over poor human beings. Irregularities in procurement of crops are yet the other area, which deserves to be regulated. The recent Kisan Andolan has highlighted a lot of problem areas which deserve to be addressed on priority basis, to check manmade disasters. 

We often find that even the policies, processes and procedures are defective at times. Mr Sharad Pawar, former Minister of Agriculture, once observed that it is strange that loans for cars are given at cheaper rates than those given to farmers for agriculture. It is really an irony that those working for the survival of humanity are put to task while others buying luxuries are being rewarded. 

Thousands of farmers commit suicide because they cannot pay back even petty loans. But the big industrial houses that usurp billions of rupees in the form of loans go scot free. Even their names are not disclosed in the name of trade and commerce secrets and secrecy provisions of banking legislations. 

It appears that our political leaders get elected on the basis of votes casted by poor but they work for the elite, industrialists and business houses. All policies are framed and modified to suit their requirements. Even their loans get written off due to lacuna in laws and their purchasing power. 

Un-authorized colonies: Hundreds of unauthorized colonies have come up in connivance with politicians and the bureaucracy, which have been given all facilities at the cost of honest taxpayers. But no one has ever been made accountable for the lapses. Rather the colonies get regularized and those responsible for their coming up has ever been questioned or penalized? A few public interest litigations are still going on. 

Illegal constructions: Delhi is one of the worst suffering cities because of unauthorized constructions. Illegal medium and small scale industries, markets, business centers have come up in residential areas causing inconvenience to the residents and making a hell of the living conditions due to pollutions and other life hazards.  A number of fires have broken in such industries taking numerous lives, but none of those responsible has ever been made accountable. 

The builders and the engineering staff responsible for such illegal constructions walk away with immunity while the sword hangs upon those who have purchased them. Has any of the officers from MCD, DDA, NDMC etc. ever been challenged or taken to task for dereliction of duties? A few engineers who get suspended are back to the job in connivance with those at the helm of affairs. The building bylaws have become a tool for extortion, in the hands of the officials. 

Non provision of free services to BPL as per MOU: One finds that a large number of schools and hospitals and other societies working for charitable purpose take land from the government at concessional rates with the condition that a part of the services will be rendered to the poor and needy free of cost. But hardly any of these societies give such concessions. 

Recently a number of public interest litigations have been filed and the government has awakened. But here again the various wings of the government are trying to blame each other instead of fighting the offenders unitedly. This not only weakens the case but also allows such societies to move with immunity. DDA is reported to have cancelled the lease deed of a few such institutions recently. But here again we need to be vigilant/jagruk. 

A lot of other areas can be found out by individuals based on their own perception to take up social audit for making the public authorities accountable which is the basic aim of the Act.