MHA plans overhaul of FCRA division
NEW DELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has decided to revamp its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) division for better oversight, enhanced verification and restricted access to files of nongovernment organisations (NGOS) seeking registration or renewal of foreign funding licences, officials said.
The ministry’s decision came two days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unearthed an alleged organised nexus between NGOS, government officials and middlemen for “illegal clearance” of FCRA licences. At least 14 people, including six government servants, were arrested after the probe agency retrieved ₹3.21 crore during raids at 40 locations across multiple cities on Tuesday.
“We are mulling major changes in the entire FCRA division’s processes so that corrupt government officials do not sabotage the system ,” an official familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity.
The expected changes in the FCRA division include monitoring every NGO’S application by senior officers, multiple levels of verification – by the Intelligence Bureau before grant of licence as well as post approval -- and restricting access to government files.
Among key flaws which were identified by CBI in its investigation was that FCRA division officers at the rank of assistant director or accountant had access to all details of NGOS, and were able to contact them through different set of middlemen, promising relief . They were also able to leak real-time information such as ‘confidential enquiry reports’, status of NGO’S application, clearance date etc.
The six serving and former FCRA division officers – Parmod Kumar Bhasin, Alok Ranjan, Raj Kumar, Mohammad Saheed Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar Ali and Tushar Kanti Roy – who were arrested on Tuesday will soon be suspended, as per Central Civil Services rules, once CBI submits its report on the case to the home ministry, a second official said, seeking anonymity.
The six serving and former FCRA division officers – Parmod Kumar Bhasin, Alok Ranjan, Raj Kumar, Mohammad Saheed Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar Ali and Tushar Kanti Roy – who were arrested on Tuesday will soon be suspended, as per Central Civil Services rules, once the CBI submits its report on the case to the home ministry, a second official said, seeking anonymity.
While the FIR mentions only about 18 NGOS which reportedly managed to or were promised Fcra-related clearances by the accused officials, CBI suspects a large number of such organisations may have used the services of these three networks.
Omidyar Network, supported by billionaire philanthropist and e-bay founder Pierre Omidyar is among institutions that have been named by the CBI in the alleged case of bribe-for-approval.
In the case involving Omidyar Network, that was put under the prior-permission category (an NGO with no regular licence needs to seek permission from MHA to accept funding) last year, CBI said that Tushar Kanti Roy promised relief to the NGO in lieu of a 10% bribe of the foreign remittance it would receive. Omidyar, however, was ready to pay ₹5 lakh, the FIR said.
An email sent to Omidyar Network by HT remained unanswered at the time of filing this report.
THE EXPECTED CHANGES INCLUDE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF VERIFICATION, LIMITING ACCESS TO GOVT FILES