Distributes calendar detailing funds allocated and used to all families of the villages
A gram panchayat in the Dediapada taluka in Gujarat has done what many national governments don't like to do: Present a clear 'hisab' of how they spent their annual budget.
To that end, the gram sabhas of Khokhraumar and Kundiamba — covering two and three villages respectively — decided to create a calendar that details its income and expenditure and distributed it among the 200 to 250 families of the villages.
Maganbhai Vasava, sarpanch of a Kundiamba village said that the idea behind the initiative was that they wanted the people to know about the work done and more importantly, an attempt at transparency. "It took us some time to actually get information about the funds allocated to us. We had to chase the talati for some time as he would be able to give us information only when he was free. But, over a period of several months, we did collect all the details of the funds allocated and the actual work done and sanctioned," said Vasava.
He said that though they experimented with the calendar for one year only, for the next, they put up a board outside the school to detail the same. "We felt we had to give them the information — whether they asked us or not," said Vasava.
Govind Desai, senior manager of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) who has worked in the area as part of their good governance initiative said it was during one of the discussions that the gram panchayat put forward the idea. "It has been our observation that many times, villagers don't trust the gram panchayat and the sarpanch, and believe that no work is being done because the funds are being siphoned away by the panchayat. The truth is that the sarpanch and gram panchayats don't have much power and this was a good way of informing people about the work being done," claimed Desai.
Interestingly, he said, when the calendar detailing the income and expenditure was released, there was no criticism of the way funds were being spent, but instead, the villagers simply gave feedback on how and where the funds could be spent better the next time. "The villagers wanted more funds to be spent on ensuring drinking water supply, which is a major problem here. They also wanted better spending on health and education," said Desai.
He added, though, that for the gram panchayats to get details of the funds allocated, was an exercise in patience. "It took them six months to collect all the information from the talatis. Now, they are also mulling putting up a digital board that will regularly update," said Desai.
FEEDBACK
Govind Desai of AKRSP said when the calendar detailing the income and expenditure was released, there was no criticism of the way funds were being spent but instead, the villagers simply gave feedback on how and where the funds could be spent better
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