Over 17,700 NGOs receiving foreign funds have not filed their annual returns for 2011-12 with the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA). Concerned over rising cases of irregularity in FCRA, the MHA has for the first time made public the names and addresses of defaulter associations. INN initiated to publish the investigative series of stories as 'Multi-Crore Zakat Scam In India' in these columns. MHA taken as serious note on these findings and ordered an enquiry into these allegations. And issued notices to several irregular NGOs to submit their records of foreign fundings.
According to the FCRA, if an NGO does not file returns properly, its registration can be cancelled after serving a showcause notice. “There are more than 40,000 NGOs registered under FCRA, but only half of these NGOs are filing statutory returns for the last 2-3 years. The government is mulling strict action against defaulter NGOs and they may lose the FCRA licence,” official sources said.
A total 22,735 NGOs received foreign funds to the tune of Rs 10, 335 crore in 2010-11. Among the states and Union territories, the highest foreign funding was reported by Delhi Rs 2,016 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs 1,557 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1,176 crore). The largest number of NGOs which have been served showcause notice (2,479) is based in Andhra Pradesh. According to the Home Ministry, 1,959 NGOs in Tamil Nadu and 1,896 NGOs based in Uttar Pradesh defaulted in filing statutory FC-6 form.
The annual return in Form FC-6 reflects the foreign contribution received in the exclusive bank account and also includes the details of transactions for utilisation for bona fide welfare activities. During 2010-2011, NGOs based in Tamil Nadu received Rs 1,570 crore while UP received Rs 257 crore.
Since NGOs work independently and not accountable to the government, the MHA has been encouraging transparent and accountable system of governance and management in the welfare associations.
The ministry had earlier observed that NGO sector in India is vulnerable to the risks of money important laundering and terrorist financing and details of account with return is important to ensure that foreign funding is not misused or diverted for any anti-national activity.
