Jan sunwai
Also called: Public hearing · Topic: Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Jan sunwai means "public hearing". It is a village meeting where official records of works and wages are read aloud and residents check them against what really happened. The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) began holding them in Rajasthan from 1994. They exposed "ghost workers" (fake names on wage lists) and fake bills. Jan sunwai was an early form of social audit and helped build the movement for the RTI Act 2005.
Example
At MKSS jan sunwais in Rajasthan in the 1990s, villagers found that they were listed as paid for work they never did. Their slogan was "hamara paisa, hamara hisaab" (our money, our accounts).
Don't confuse with
- Social audit: this grew out of jan sunwai and became a formal requirement under MGNREGA 2005 s.17, with independent state Social Audit Units. Jan sunwai began as a campaign tool used by citizens.