Government gets tough with NGOs

The Central government has put non-government organisations (NGOs) that receive foreign funds under the scanner, by imposing a penalty of Rs 52 lakh on 24 such NGOs in 2014, and Rs 80 lakh on 71 NGOs in 2015, according to figures available with the Ministry of Home Affairs. The action comes in the wake of an Intelligence Bureau ( IB) report that many such NGOs are stalling development projects in the country. Until July this year, the government imposed a penalty of around Rs 32.8 lakh on eight NGOs, for receiving and utilising foreign contribution without obtaining registration or prior permission under the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act). According to the figures, subsequently, the registration of 10,020 NGOs was cancelled in March 2015.

This year, the government has cancelled the registrations of over 11,000 NGOs, effective 1 November. The country has over 33,000 NGOs. The number of cancellations is likely to increase in the coming days, said sources.

“These associations were required to file applications for renewal under Rule 12 (2) of FCRA Rule by 30 June 2016. Since renewal applications of these association were not received by 30 June, their registration deemed to have ceased w.e.f. 1 November 2016,” a notice issued by Mukesh Mittal, Joint Secretary (Foreigners, Ministry of Home Affairs), said.

Speaking to this newspaper, Harsh Jaitli, CEO of Voluntary Action network India (VANI), said: “There is a need to have more transparency and accountability in the entire system of giving or cancelling FCRA registration.” He alleged that there are cases wherein a particular NGO is shown as being given registration, but it did not get any official letter.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, while replying to a question in Lok Sabha recently, had said that a number of steps had been taken for enhancing the transparency, accountability and effective monitoring of foreign contributions received by associations registered under FCRA, and rules and procedures had been simplified substantially.

There was a huge uproar last year following an Intelligence Bureau report identifying several-foreign funded NGOs that are negatively impacting economic development. The report apparently revealed that a significant number of Indian NGOs, funded by foreign donors, were using people-centric issues to create an environment which lends itself to stalling development projects. Countries from where these NGOs get funding include the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, Australia, France, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, UAE, etc.

The Centre monitors funds received by NGOs and also complaints that are received from various sources, including security agencies, in this regard. In case of violation, action is taken after conducting inspection of the records and accounts. The real estate market has virtually plummeted following demonetisation and other steps taken by the Centre and prospective buyers are in a “wait and watch” mode. They are taking their time as clarity is yet to emerge, but are hoping that these moves will bring about transparency and reduce prices in the new year.

“Transactions in the real estate sector have virtually dried up, particularly in the land and capital raising business. Enquiries on residential sales have witnessed a drop and prices in the secondary market are softening,” said Anuj Puri, chairman and country head of real estate firm JLL.

Property experts say that 2016 was a landmark year as, apart from demonetisation, many other measures