Audit of schemes

The government has finally gone for audit of its core schemes. In the next two months, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to review of all social sector schemes to examine whether existing beneficiaries continue to be eligible. At the top of government’s mind is the Griha Aadhar scheme where a housewife in a family whose financial resources are less than Rs 3 lakh was getting a monthly dole of Rs 2,000. Parrikar’s logic is that since the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations have been implemented, there would be a corresponding rise in salaries putting many beneficiaries across the financial limit. The move makes sense as if 1.52 lakh families are registered with income of less than Rs 3 lakh it would actually mean that almost half the families in Goa are covered under this bracket.rParrikar’s move to reassess social schemes may have come a little late, but it is certainly a positive step. Such an assessment will also open a window for new genuine beneficiaries who never found favour earlier in the scheme of things. Governments need to focus on such audits from time to time to keep the schemes on the right track. rWhat remains to be seen is how the decision is translated into action as it will be a herculean task to ascertain families whose income has crossed the threshold.rAnother flagship scheme that had gone in pause mode was the Laadli Laxmi, but the government was quick to clarify that money was not paid due to the election code. While the government goes in review mode over its schemes, there is an air of uncertainty building up as ministers come up with contradictory claims over such doles. rAs soon as the mobile data scheme was stopped last week, Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte was quick to explain that the Goa Yuva Sanchar Yojana was scrapped following numerous complaints from parents regarding misuse of data and talk time. rA day later, the chief minister went on record saying that the government had received several complaints of network issues and hence decided to restructure the scheme with a new operator. He also said that the scheme will be re-launched after necessary changes in around four months’ time. rWhen the government is speaking in contrasting voices, there are doubts over the sincerity of restarting these schemes. The government needs to be not only honest in its approach, but also amply clear over the future of such social schemes.