The State government has proposed to bring more schemes, including the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) and the Dr. Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Nutritious Noon Meal Programme, under the social audit during 2020-21.
At present, the social audit is being undertaken for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The Social Audit Society of Tamil Nadu, a body registered in 2013 under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, facilitates the exercise, to be executed by village panchayats to ensure proper implementation of MGNREGS.
In respect of the NSAP, there are 18.4 lakh beneficiaries in the State. (In addition, about 11.1 lakh beneficiaries are covered under other social security schemes). As part of PMAY-G (meant for providing houses to the poor in rural areas), around 9.11 lakh eligible beneficiaries will have to be covered. Around 5.27 lakh houses, costing about ₹8,970 crore, have been constructed since 2016-17. The Nutritious Noon Meal Programme is benefitting around 49.85 lakh children.
Initiating the debate on the demand for grants to his departments, Local Administration and Rural Development Minister S.P. Velumani said a detailed calendar was being prepared for conducting the social audit next year in 12,523 village panchayats for MGNREGS.
As for sanitation coverage in rural parts of the State, the Minister said that from 2013-14 to 2019-20, a “record number” of 50.17 lakh individual household latrines were built.
