Just a breath ahead of the proposed social audit for Centres’ NREG (National Rural Employment Guarantee) programme, the Kerala government is gearing up for country’s first regulator-initiated social audit next week.
On October 23, Kerala will set rolling a painstaking stakeholders’ social audit of Walayar checkpost (Tamil Nadu-Kerala border) through which 50% of the goods to the consumer-State flow in.
“This would involve a Citizens’ Charter for the checkpost, codified from stakeholders’ suggestions by a panel of seven eminent citizens,” says Dr Isaac, Kerala finance finister. The jury panel includes Magsaysay-winning social activist Aruna Roya and public finance expert Renuka Vishwanathan.
For example, taking a leaf from the Dubai Port Trust’s (DPT are Kerala government’s business associates in the Kochi port development) practice of using Simputers for tax computation, officials in Walayar are to be given Simputer.
The Kerala government also proposed to invest in Rs 10 crore in Walayar in manpower, machinery and infrastructure. This is expected to buoy the State’t tax collections significantly.
Few months ago, the State had launched `Corruption-free Walayar’ initiative to plug the leakages through the checkpost, simultaneously throwing an open challenge that the government would fund any media sting operation on Walayar. The State government has also offered Rs 25,000 for the one who blow the whistle on any bribe-transaction at Walayar at recent times.
Earlier, a rough estimate was that there was Rs 10-crore worth corruption at Walayar per day.
Tamil Nadu police and revenue authorities were also co-operative in reining the free play of goonda elements who ran the show in Walayar.
“The phenomenon deserves a detailed social audit by stakeholders because it revolves around not just a village or town, but the revenue entitlements of an entire State population,” says the minister.