Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act 2017
Topic: Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
This is a 2017 law of Meghalaya. It was the first law in India to make social audit compulsory for government programmes and public services. In a social audit, the people who benefit and the local community check a programme's records and results, then discuss them in public. Before this Act, compulsory social audit was tied to particular schemes. Meghalaya made it a general legal duty across its programmes and services.
Example
Since 2005, MGNREGA s.17 had required gram-sabha social audit, but only for that rural jobs scheme. Meghalaya's 2017 Act went further. It made social audit compulsory by law for government programmes and public services in the state.
Don't confuse with
- MGNREGA s.17 (2005): this was the first law to make social audit compulsory, but only for one scheme. Meghalaya's Act was the first to cover government programmes and public services in general.
- CAG audit: the CAG checks government accounts as a financial audit done by experts. A social audit is done by the community.