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Public Works as a Safety Net
the software source code was kept under government control to ensure against possible abuse or conflicts of interest on the part of the developer. This consideration was clearly spelled out in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TCS. Though the initial software was developed free of charge, the state government pays approximately $1 million every year for troubleshooting, developing, and improving the software. Seventy programmers and database experts and 23 field-based supporting software engineers maintain and manage the software.
Key Implementation Features Real-Time Monitoring The chief feature of the MIS is real-time monitoring of all transactions recorded in the system’s eight modules. This is accomplished primarily with phone-based technology. The value of this transaction-based MIS over a paper-based system is that it ensures the timely accuracy of all data and promotes real-time checks and balances within the MIS. Through the use of specialized software, many important checks are incorporated throughout the MIS. One of the most critical components in terms of reconciling information is the pay order generation transaction, as it validates some of the most important data in the MIS, including the number of households that were provided wage employment, person-days worked, payments to workers, project expenditures, and labor-to-material ratios. The program is continuously monitored, with 14 different types of reports placed in the public domain. The Web-based reports are designed to control for a number of checks to ensure smooth implementation. These include the following: • How many households accessed employment, how many households received wage employment, and how much money each household and each individual worker received • How many projects are available in each village, how many projects are ongoing, and how many are completed • Project expenditures • Project and household expenditure reports for social audits • Various ad hoc reports for internal and social audits • Expenditures in each budget line to monitor administrative expenditures.