Headlines
Foreign fund curbs on 4,470 NGOs; Organizations deny receiving notification
New Delhi, June 10
The government has so far
barred 4,470 NGOs from receiving foreign funds for not adhereing to the
guidelines on this but many affected organisations say they have not
been formally informed about this.
After scrutinising the records
of 9,000 NGOs, the home ministry has cancelled the licenses of 4,470
NGOs for non-compliance with the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act
(FCRA).
According to the FCRA of 2010, which sets the
guidelines for foreign contributions received by NGOs, any such transfer
has to be be reflected in the prescribed returns by the transferor and
the recipient.
"These NGOs have violated the FCRA and have not
been filing their returns. So, their licenses to receive foreign funds
have been cancelled," a home ministry official said, adding that some of
the organizations have not been filing their returns for over 10 years.
"We have been caught unawares on the issue. We haven't received
any notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs so far," said
Aishwarya Bhati, Secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
The
Supreme Court Bar Association was one of the 4,470 organizations whose
licenses to receive foreign funds have been cancelled. Among others
similarly affected are Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
Gujarat National Law University, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia's Kabir NGO, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, Osmania
University and University of Hyderabad.
"Our university has
always complied with all the rules. We haven't received any information
regarding this," said Delhi University Pro Vice-Chancellor Sudhish
Pachauri.