The 73rd amendment to the Constitution was truly landmark in the sense that it transformed panchayats into a constitutionally and legally mandated institution of local self-governance, envisaging the strengthening of grassroots governance. Transparency in fund flow and citizens’ oversight of the functions and performance of the three-tier governance system are foundational pillars of grassroots democracy. Ironically, a recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General has revealed a troubling situation regarding structural deficiencies in Panchayati Raj institutions in Assam, which continue to create significant obstacles to achieving the goals of empowered local self-governance and grassroots accountability. A social audit allows village communities to examine official records of how funds are spent, report problems with procedures or misuse of resources, and ask for accountability. Yet, the CAG reports reveal a worrying trend: glaring deficiencies in social audit systems in the state’s PRIs weaken such checks and balances in grassroots governance and defeat the core objectives. The objectives of a social audit, listed by CAG authorities in the report, are to promote transparency and accountability in the implementation of a programme; to inform and educate people about their rights and entitlements under the law; to provide a collective platform, such as the GramGramGramGramGramGram Sabha, for people to express their needs and grievances; to promote people’s participation in all stages of implementation; and to improve the capacity of local stakeholders who participate in social audits. The CAG also pointed out that the main goal of the Social Audit Unit in Assam is to improve the social audit process by training different groups and raising awareness among rural people. It insists that the social audit is to become an integral part of the governance process and should remain independent from mainstream government in the administration, including scheme-implementing agencies. In other words, the social audit enables both the public and the government to jointly monitor schemes and projects, ensuring strong participation, accountability, and transparency throughout all stages from planning to execution. The panchayats in the state mainly rely on money from the central government through special schemes, as well as from the state government through state sector schemes and grants from the Central and State Finance Commissions, because their own income is not enough to cover their needs. This situation calls for greater transparency in fund utilisation so that allocated funds are properly used to achieve the intended objectives. Additionally, the release of fund payments is tied to how well the money is used, the need for transparency, and accountability, which requires making the social audit system a strong and independent part of local oversight. The CAG investigation found that the social audit system for PRIs in the state is struggling due to insufficient staff, weak citizen oversight, and ongoing administrative problems, preventing it from becoming a reliable and well-staffed system and making it just a formality rather than an effective process. The CAG noted that the main objective of the Social Audit Unit (SAU) in Assam is to work towards strengthening and deepening the social audit process through capacity building and training of different stakeholders, as well as systematic awareness building and dissemination of information among rural masses. However, the audit findings uncovered conflicting realities. A glaring instance of systemic negligence towards social audits in PRIs in the state is that the SAU prepared the budget proposals for the years 2018-19 to 2022-23, but they were not submitted to the Governing Body (GB) for approval, as the GB had not met during those four years. It also observed that though social audit reports were discussed in the Gram Sabha, no public hearing at the district and block levels was organised, due to which the objectives of accountability and transparency remained unmet. Moreover, the executive committee of SAU was not formed even after six years of adoption of the resolution, and the grievance redressal officer for receiving complaints from citizens about the staff and practice of the SAU was not appointed, which raises questions about whether the social audit system is being systematically weakened to undermine active participation of people at the grassroots level and sabotage the bottom-up planning and governance model in the state. The elections to PRIs trigger immense enthusiasm among electors in rural Assam, which brings opportunities to educate and inform them about their role in social audits to demand accountability from elected representatives, government officials and staff. This transformation is urgently necessary to ensure that the elections to these institutions of self-governance do not remain a ritualistic exercise of electing their representatives but truly become the entry point for decentralised planning to strengthen grassroots democracy in the true sense. It is crucial to transform the social audit system into a robust citizen-led watchdog in Assam.