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@article{185667,
        author = {Dr. Dasari Yedukondalu},
        title = {Impact of Social Audits in Andhra Pradesh: An Empirical Study},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {5},
        pages = {2300-2307},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=185667},
        abstract = {Undoubtedly, one of the most significant efforts to transform rural life in India is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). A major reason for the failure of many development programs in India has been the lack of accountability. Most poverty alleviation programs have suffered from dishonesty, inefficiency, and absenteeism. Inspections without public participation often fail to gain public confidence. Under Section 17 of the Act, the Gram Sabha is mandated to conduct a Social Audit. Andhra Pradesh was the first and only state to implement social audits under MGNREGA in 2006. The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan pioneered social audits in development programs. Its goal was to increase transparency in wage payments and assess the quality of work through public scrutiny of records. Public participation in social audits has become a key governance issue. While widely appreciated, social audits have been only moderately successful in ensuring full accountability. However, they have raised awareness and strengthened transparency in rural development schemes. Using official social audit reports, this study examines their impact on MGNREGS delivery in Andhra Pradesh.
Social audits are designed as a tool to enhance accountability and transparency in program implementation. The process includes Action Taken Reports (ATRs) on issues identified during audits. This comparative study focuses on social audits under MGNREGS in selected districts, particularly Guntur, using secondary data for analysis.},
        keywords = {Wage seekers, MGNREGS, Social Audit, Transparency and Accountability},
        month = {October},
        }