The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Treasuries come under social audit scanner

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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Treasuries come under social audit scanner

Special Correspondent

Independent jury to assess failings in service

Photo: S. Mahinsha

Being accountable: Finance Minster T.M. Thomas Isaac hands over a copy of the social audit report from a treasury in Thiruvananthapuram to social audit jury Chairman C.P. Nair on Wednesday, marking the State-level launch of the Treasury Social Audit Programme.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the first time in the country, an entire government department — the Kerala Treasury Department — is falling under the scanner of social audit, with an independent jury sitting in judgement of the failings of the service delivery system.

Launching the Treasury Social Audit Programme here on Wednesday, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said the initiative was as proposed by the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission.

The groundwork for the programme began seven months ago, when all the treasury branches in the State — 207 in number — published on their notice boards a Citizens’ Rights Charter telling the customers their rights and service entitlements.

An independent jury chaired by former Chief Secretary C.P. Nair on Wednesday examined whether the Principal Sub Treasury in Thiruvananthapuram could fulfil the commitments it had made in the charter.

Complainants and the officials sat facing each other, with the general public constituting the audience, which had full freedom to join the discussion.

Report to be submitted

The jury heard all sides and would place a report before the treasury concerned. The government and the officials are bound to act on this report (the ‘bound’ clause being an ideal condition, though genuine limitations such as funds, manpower and infrastructure facilities may have to be condoned).

The department would then prepare an ‘action taken report’ for being placed before the next social audit session a year later.

Dr. Isaac said the first round of the social audit of all the 207 treasury branches would be over by October end. All the money transactions of the government took place through the treasuries.

More than 20 lakh people — pensioners, contractors, tax payers and those doing banking transactions — annually did transactions with the treasuries. This new concept would make the department more efficient and accountable, he said.

Case of Walayar

The Walayar check-post of the Sales Tax Department initiated a social audit exercise a few months ago, bringing down complaints of corruption, increasing revenue for the government and lessening the hardship of truck drivers (who often had to wait in line for several hours each trip, as the corrupt elements in the department got them loosen their purse-strings), he said.

Several suggestions came up during the inaugural social audit session — suggestions for lessening the pensioners’ woes and turning the treasuries into a full-fledged banking institutions, eliciting enthusiastic rounds of applause from the officials in the audience.

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