SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Social Audit Council is yet to become fully operational as the state government has not appointed a new chairman following the resignation of former chairman Toki Blah who was appointed in November last year.
When asked about his resignation, Blah said that he had resigned due to personal reasons.
Commissioner and Secretary, Community and Rural Development department, Sampath Kumar said: “The government has not yet appointed a new chairman. The draft rules have been under consideration of the government and will be put up in the Cabinet soon.”
Further, Kumar informed that the state government has done a pilot exercise based on the Social Audit Act and has come up with various decisions.
Kumar also provided an example by stating that under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), senior citizens and handicapped people receive pensions for Rs 250 or Rs 300 whereas under the CM’s Social Assistance Programme, a pensioner would receive Rs 500.
“So when the social audit happened, many villagers said that there was no parity. The state government took a decision that everyone should get Rs 500,” he said.
He said that the pilot exercise was done in 18 villages and based on that, around 57,000 people are getting the benefit of Rs 500.
“Based on the experience of the pilot exercise, we have drafted a rule called the social audit rule,” he said.
He added that once the cabinet approves the rules, the social audit will be conducted in every village at least once in every two years.
