Audit, transparency and citizen-centric accountability need to be part of fund support and disbursement
Each COVID-19 wave in India has left us facing grave uncertainty of life and livelihood for vast numbers of India’s unorganized workers and inadequate response of the state and society to their plight. The latest global OXFAM inequality report highlights how the number and wealth of India’s billionaires has increased dramatically, while 84% have reduced income and 46 million working people have fallen into acute poverty. It provides a damning indicator of how poor the state’s response has been in terms of relief and social sector spending during this period. Therefore, the distribution system of the meager amount allocated by the central and state governments becomes even more important. A comprehensive public audit of a free relief scheme for unorganized workers in Meghalaya offers important lessons about the vital importance of transparency, public participation and monitoring of people who have suffered the brunt of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
When the Meghalaya government announced relief for workers affected by the COVID-19 lockdown through the Chief Minister’s Relief Against Wage Loss (CRAWL) scheme, it was welcomed by many. But the announcement came without the necessary details. There was no notification outlining the quantum of financial assistance. There were no published schemes or guidelines with minimum criteria to identify beneficiaries and confirm their eligibility. Nevertheless, the state of economic desperation prompted a large number of people to apply for aid.
RTI and Feedback
Unfortunately, people had no way of checking whether their application for support was successful. Some applicants started receiving payments in their bank accounts, but they too were confused about how much assistance they should get. Some unions of workers in the unorganized sector such as street vendors and domestic workers were immediately brought to the notice of the government, but not much was done. In October 2020, Thama U Rangali-Juki (TUR), a local citizens’ group, filed an RTI application seeking a list of unorganized workers who were paid. This information should have been compulsorily and actively disclosed in the public domain as mandated by the State Government under Section 4, RTI Act.
The RTI reply was provided in December 2020 with details of around 1,60,000 people and transfers. The response also appears to suggest that the scheme for financial assistance for unorganized workers facing wage loss was ₹2,100, and ₹5,000 for construction workers registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act. The unions decided to disseminate this information widely through WhatsApp, community websites and local electronic news channels. The RTI response was later converted into a searchable digital database with the help of Gramavani, a social tech company, with a dedicated site called hokmeghalaya.in. This helped people find out how much and how much money was transferred to them as per government records, with the option to file a complaint with the Chief Minister’s Office if they contest the government’s claim. Using IVRS, 1,35,617 people were called and informed that ₹2,100 or ₹5,000 had been transferred to their bank accounts, as per government records.
what an audit showed
This virtual “public audit” and facilitation exercise was carefully planned and carried out by civil society groups and labor unions using digital technology at a time when COVID-19 restrictions made physical verification impossible. The results were eye-opening. Of the 11,509 people who responded to IVRS calls, only 13% said they received the full amount mentioned in the RTI response; 47% received nothing, despite government records showing ₹2,100 each being transferred. Around 8,000 people filed individual complaints with the Chief Minister’s Office and the Labor Department. Thousands of others searched through RTI data and filed their complaints. This was a process that should have been carried out by the government, which was a far better resource, and was obliged to check whether the money had reached the beneficiary. Instead, the government went on the defensive and refused to accept or engage with the findings. Faced with a stalemate of growing discontent among workers who had not received their benefits, and the government’s attitude of denial and objection, unions and civil society groups held a public meeting in Shillong on World Human Rights Day in December 2021. The hearing was organized, so that additional benefit could be obtained. Pay attention to the issue.
need for responsibility
Presided over by Justice Madan B Lokur, a former Supreme Court judge of India, the four-hour public hearing was an example of the democratic potential and social ethos of Meghalaya and its people. More than 200 workers gave up another day’s wages, and came with their bank passbooks and labor cards to show that the money had not been deposited into their bank accounts after more than a year. The issue was about the need to get an answer. Sadly, as Justice Lokur said, the Labor Department boycotted the public hearing. Faced with such a situation, civil society groups have now approached the Legal Services Authority to pursue and implement an independent mechanism of grievance redressal and accountability.
The exercise has implications beyond Meghalaya. The Central and various State Governments have collected and spent thousands of crores for “relief payments” including the use of District Mineral Foundation Trust Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Compensatory Afforestation Management Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Fund etc. There is no separate information in the public domain. The expenditure by governments under these various funds for COVID-19 relief is not subject to either statutory audit or institutional social audit of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and in their absence the necessary grievance redressal forums are specific.
This claim, demanding transparency and citizen-centred accountability, cannot be viewed as an isolated movement in a small state. For example, in Rajasthan too, there is a movement and campaign going on demanding accountability law, which is getting support. It is a demand to be acknowledged and heard by marginalized groups, which raises sharp questions that apply to all and demands precise answers to make democratic participation meaningful. A strong human assertion emerges from the pain and ruin of a crisis, but it has constructive implications for all. It is ultimately about the power and dignity of democratic citizenship – and once again, it is our most marginalized who are showing us the way.
Rakshita Swamy is with the Social Accountability Forum for Action and Research (SAFAR). Angela Rangad Thama U is with Rangali-Juki (TUR)
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