Transparency and Accountability

MGNREGA has inbuilt transparency and

accountability mechanisms in its design.
However, evidence from the field indicates that
the frequency of social audits and their quality is
a major constraint in effective implementation
of the Scheme.
Under the Act, the GS has to conduct regular
social audits of all the projects under the
Scheme taken up within the GP.
However, there are good practices where states
have taken innovative steps towards developing
and institutionalising accountability tools into
the governance system.
Accuracy of Management Information System (MIS) and
Monthly Progress Report Data
One of the many concerns expressed about
MGNREGA is that the administrative data
may not be reflective of employment
provided on the field.
While this may be true to some extent,
MGNREGA is increasingly available online
for cross verification. In FY 201112, more
than 90 per cent of the total expenditure is
available on MIS.
Need of national level studies to verify the
authenticity of MIS data would help resolve
some of the discrepancies that have been
brought to light.