Foreign fun 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. (IANS)