Raphael Warjri

The Meghalaya Chief Minister on Tuesday informed the Assembly that more than 4.19 lakh social audits have been conducted across the State over the past eight years, including around 69,000 audits during the last year alone.
It may be mentioned that the Autumn Session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is being held from 24 to 28 August, 2026, with Question Hour forming part of the day's proceedings.
Responding to questions during Question Hour on the implementation of social audits under the Community and Rural Development (C&RD) Department, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the State has substantially expanded the scope of the social audit mechanism beyond the original mandate under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The Chief Minister said the State currently conducts social audits covering 17 schemes, with the mechanism now extending to sectors including food and civil supplies, education, POSHAN, fisheries, power and health.

He informed the House that 7,724 issues were reported during the last three years, of which 724 cases have been resolved, with action-taken reports made public. A total of 1,491 social audit reports have also been uploaded online, he added.

Sangma said the State allocates nearly Rs 5 crore annually from its own resources to strengthen the social audit process, which is implemented with community participation.

Earlier, C&RD Minister Sosthenes Sohtun informed the House that four cases involving financial irregularities had been detected through social audits. However, he said details of the cases would have to be furnished through a separate notice.

The issue drew sharp reactions from VPP MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, who questioned the preparedness of the Minister in responding to queries concerning the findings of the audits.

The discussion also saw Leader of the Opposition Dr. Mukul M. Sangma call for a review of the implementation of the State's social audit framework. Mukul, who was Chief Minister when the Meghalaya Community Participation and Social Audit Act was enacted in 2017, maintained that the mechanism was intended primarily as a tool for real-time course correction and community-based monitoring, rather than merely for punitive action.

Responding to the suggestion, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma acknowledged the significance of the legislation and assured the House that he would personally review its implementation to ensure that the social audit mechanism achieves its intended objectives.

The Meghalaya Community Participation and Social Audit Act, 2017, is regarded as a landmark legislation aimed at institutionalizing community participation, transparency and accountability in the implementation of government schemes.