Andhra Pradesh social audit organisation receives SKOCH Gold Award

The Society for Social Audit Accountability and Transparency of Andhra Pradesh has received a SKOCH Gold Award for its social-audit work, according to an official release. The organisation became the first State Social Audit Organisation in India to receive the award, the release said. It was recognised for efforts to place people at the centre of social audits and strengthen transparency, accountability and public participation in government programmes.

AP Social Audit Director G. Srikanth accepted the award at the 109th SKOCH Summit at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on Saturday. The award recognised initiatives related particularly to rural development and welfare programmes.

According to the release, the organisation has sought to make audits more participatory, transparent and accountable. Its initiatives include involving larger numbers of people in field-level audits, presenting findings before Gram Sabhas and at public hearings, livestreaming public proceedings and digitising social-audit reports for wider access. The release attributed renewed momentum in the state’s social-audit system to initiatives taken under the guidance of Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development K.

Pawan Kalyan. Social audits are intended in the source material as a means of allowing people to examine the implementation of government programmes. The award announcement did not provide figures for the number of audits conducted, the programmes reviewed or any specific findings resulting from the organisation’s work.

The recognition comes as Andhra Pradesh continues to develop mechanisms for public participation in the review of rural development and welfare schemes. The release described the award as confirmation of the organisation’s approach to transparency and accountability.