HYDERABAD: Two features stand out in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in the State -- online expenditure tracking ensuring transparency and social audit.

Ever since the NREGA was launched around this time last year, there was this concern over the tracking of funds and close monitoring of the job scheme, taken up simultaneously in 13,000 villages spread over 657 mandals in 13 districts. The Government did some quick thinking and asked Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop and deploy customised application software across all the 657 mandals.

Transparent process

The software generates estimates through input of multiple technical data for the works taken up under the Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (APREGS).

This has not only enabled demystification of engineering estimates but made the process transparent, both at the individual and institutional levels.

Along with software, a website, www.nrega.ap.gov.in, has been developed placing complete information about 49.46 lakh job card holders and works taken up under APREGS.

At the click of the mouse, any citizen from anywhere can pick up a habitation of his choice and view household profile of every job card holder, works initiated, technical estimates, muster roll payment for every work, physical and financial progress of works and payment authorised into each wage seeker's postal account.

Tracking of funds

"It facilitates tracking of every rupee spent under APREGS besides placing the entire information in the public domain ensuring transparency," said K. Raju, Principal Secretary, Rural Development at a review meeting recently.

No surprise the method has come in for praise by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram who wanted other States to emulate it.

Another critical component forming part of the implementation architecture of the APREGS has been social audit, monitoring of the programme by the community itself.

Mr. Raju said over 350 resource persons have been trained for the purpose at the village, district and State level. Woven into the scheme, social audit was conducted in 2,000 gram panchayats so far and it may take some more time for covering all panchayats.

Quite a sight

It was quite a sight in Anantapur recently when teams of social activists, volunteers and people in the villages, armed with official records, entered villages to see whether these matched the facts on the ground. Teams also checked whether statutory minimum and equal wages were paid.

"The exercise helped them in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the programme," he added.

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