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The Public Record Of Operations and Finance (PROOF) campaign, launched in Bangalore, serves a dual purpose. It empowers people by involving them in the analysis of government-released accounts and increases the efficiency of the governing body by introducing accountability in its functioning
Public Record Of Operations and Finance (PROOF) is a public campaign launched on July 4, 2002, in the city of Bangalore. The campaign, started by four like-minded organisations -- Janaagraha, VOICES, the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies (CBPS) and the Public Affairs Centre (PAC) -- aims at initiating a process of transparency, accountability and participation in the functioning of the city's municipal corporation, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palika (BMP). The PROOF campaign focuses on three aspects: obtaining quarterly financial statements from the government, developing performance indicators to evaluate work done by the BMP, and involving people in the functioning of the BMP. The campaign serves two purposes: it empowers local people by involving them in an analysis of government-released accounts. And, it indirectly increases the efficiency of the BMP by introducing responsiveness and accountability within its functioning. It offers an opportunity for government and local people to join hands and ensure that public money is used for the public good. Ramesh Ramanathan, PROOF partner and Janaagraha campaign coordinator says: "The analysis of government-released accounts will try to bring financial accountability and performance into the public space, while bringing the government and public together." Already people have begun actively participating and have aired their doubts at the financial reviews, he adds. Citizens present their demands on what they perceive to be important for the city and their neighbourhoods, and the BMP has to respond adequately to their needs in respect to services provided by it under its charter. All policy decisions and the allocation of funds must reflect the citizens' aspirations. M R Sreenivasa Murthy, Bangalore Mahanagara Palika commissioner, says: "We willingly offer ourselves for the scrutiny of our finances by all our citizens. Many of them are professionals and they question us very closely. This puts pressure on us to improve our own accounts and our financial practices." The PROOF campaign has forced the BMP to release its financial data for public review. While the analysis of the first quarter (Q1) was put together by experts, the second quarter (Q2) saw the first tentative steps being taken by ordinary citizens from all walks of life to present their analysis of the BMP's statement. By the time the campaign reached the third quarter (Q3), the citizens had put forward their analysis and raised several questions regarding the BMP's policy on funding, property tax estimation and collection, the process of receipt and expenditure and the budget. The people demanded a clarification when they found that the budgeted amount for revenue expenditure, for the three quarters ending December 31, 2002, was stated to be around Rs 226 crore, although the actual expenditure was only around 195 crore. Developing Performance Indicators (PIs) for BMP services is a core part of the PROOF campaign. The experience has resulted in a 58-page document on education PIs, which provides an overview of the concept, the process of developing them for BMP schools and the sister school plan. PROOF also conducts capacity-building training for people to understand the city's finances and budget and equip them with the technicalities essential to participate in review meetings and public debates. There has been a concerted effort to enable citizens' participation in the process. Radio was decided upon as the prime medium to begin the process of dissemination. So, VOICES -- a PROOF partner -- launched a radio programme series in Kannada on AIR (101.3 FM), on September 18, 2002. The 15-minute programme is aired once a week, on Wednesdays, between 8 and 8.15 pm. Every programme features the campaign mascot, PROOF Puttanna, in conversation with guest speakers either from the BMP or from the citizen community. It ends with a listener quiz for the week. Each episode deals with one aspect of the campaign and, while communicating significant information and updates, also provides a space where the community can address any ambiguity or query they may have. To promote the PROOF campaign, participatory workshops are organised to sensitise young school and college students. The student wing is called SPEC (Students PROOF Energy Centre). Interactive sessions are held in between presentations, to sensitise students and create an interest in them to "take ownership of the city and participate in the campaign". To enable students to learn more about the BMP's functioning, groups of students were sent to various BMP departments and institutions such as shopping complexes, the BMP referral hospital and the finance and taxation department. The students came up with a number of suggestions based on their observations. In the two shopping complexes they visited they found the levels of sanitation unsatisfactory. In one shopping complex, the Shopkeepers' Association had renovated the public toilets at their own cost (Rs 3.25 lakh). The students suggested that the BMP improve basic infrastructure at both complexes and supervise them better. On their visit to the BMP referral hospital the students found that although the hospital had good operating tables, laproscopic equipment and experienced staff (six doctors, 12 nurses, seven ayahs and three peons), it lacked basic equipment such as water coolers, generators and anaesthetic equipment. Contact: Public Record Of Operations and Finance (PROOF)
165, First Floor, 9th Cross
1st Stage, Indiranagar
Bangalore 560 038
Tel: 91-80-5213902/03
Email:
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(InfoChange News & Features, October 2003) |
