Social activist Aruna Roy has said that the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Kerala panchayats is apparently corruption-free.
She is part of a team that is conducting a social audit on MGNREGS implementation in nine grama panchayats in Thrissur. The audit is being conducted in connection with a programme at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration to train officials on social audit and its methodology.
Quoting preliminary findings of the audit, she said that if the data collected from nine panchayats in Thrissur was any indication, implementation of MGNREGS was fairly effective and transparent in Kerala.
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Lack of awareness
“In the panchayats we visited, we found there was a strict administrative and financial system that prevented corruption. There was also a culture of development that transcended politics. We found, however, there was a general lack of awareness among local people about details of the MGNREGS. Many did not know that it was demand-driven,” she said.
The team that conducts the social audit also includes Annie Raja, a member of the national executive of the CPI, and social activist Nikhil Dey.
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Ms. Roy is a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.