Citizen Action Support Group (CASG) under the HIVOS funded project had designed tools in order to carry out social audit of RTI at the grassroots level. While many evaluation studies have been carried out with regard to the implementation of RTI at various levels of governance – none, so far, were on RTI at the lowest unit of governance – the panchayat. CASG, thus, took up municipality (for urban areas) and panchayat (for rural areas) in order to carry out the social audit. Four GPs and one municipality were chosen in Chhattisgarh and Orissa. Currently, the survey of the social audit is under progress.

CASG provided the training and technical support in conducting the RTI social audit in the selected municipalities and GPs. The objectives of the social audit are as follows:

m      To understand the information needs of the people at the grassroots level;

m      To know and understand the working of the RTI at the decentralized governance units;

m      To carry out wide advocacy in order to mobilize the grassroots communities towards using RTI as a tool of empowerment. 

There are four partners across two states that have partnered with PAC in carrying out the social audit.

CARDS – Community Advancement and Rural Development Society, Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Samarthan, Raipur, Chhattisgarh

The Humanity, Bolangir, Orissa.

YSD – Youth for Social Development, Bramhapur, Orissa.