Employment Guarantee Act: Social Audit in Viluppuram district, Tamil Nadu (July-August 2007)

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Members of the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC), civil society organizations and concerned citizens came together under the banner of "NREGA Watch Tamil Nadu" to organize a social audit in Villupuram district (Tamil Nadu) from 26 July to 4th August 2007 in 50 panchayats of 5 blocks: Thirukoviloor, Vanoor, Mylam, Thiruvaloore and Thiruvannai Nallore. Participants - over 300 in all - came from 10 districts in Tamil Nadu, as well as states such as Rajasthan and West Bengal. This was the first ever mass social audit in Tamil Nadu.

The programme for the social audit was as follows:

• 26-28 July: Training
• 29-31 July: Worksite visits
• 1 August: Gram Sabha
• 2 August: Report consolidation
• 3 August: District Public hearing
• 4 August: State level Public hearing

For more information on the social audit, please consult the documents and press releases below, or contact Annie Raja at nfiwdelhi@yahoo.com.

• Reports
  • Report of the social audit of NREGA in Viluppuram district, Tamil Nadu (NREGA Watch, TN)
  • Creches are mandatory (Statement from TN-FORCES, 4 August 2007)
  • Villupuram: Long Road to Employment Guarantee (Jean Drèze and Sowmya Kidambi)
  • Villupuram: NREGA off the Beaten Track (NREGA Watch Tamil Nadu)
• Press releases
  • July 26: District Collector welcomes Social Audit Team
  • July 27: National Employment Guarantee Council Members arrive in Villupuram to participate in social audit of NREGA
  • July 28: Social audit village visits begins tomorrow
  • July 29: NREGA Social Audits begin today
  • July 30: Trends emerging from the on-going Social Audit
• Articles
  • Social audit of job guarantee scheme (Hindu, 24 July 2007)
  • Jean Drèze and Sowmya Kidambi, Long road to employment guarantee (Hindu, 2 August 2007)
  • State Government considering creches on NREGA worksites (Hindu, 5 August 2007)
  • Nirmala Lakshman, The Hundred Days Basket (Hindu, 14 August 2007)

Last updated: 1 November 2007