New Delhi: A move to keep a check on the funding of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) by the Narendra Modi government has left the civil society jittery.
According to reports, the central government has decided to create a central database of NGOs operating in different parts of the country. The latest move comes amid the government’s crackdown on a number of NGOs that have received foreign funding in the past couple of years.
The decision has left civil society groups concerned over fears of the government using the database to target other NGOs in the future.
A report in Hindustan Times states that the Centre will soon ask states to issue instructions to regulatory bodies such as the Registrar of Societies and Charity Commissioner to get the NGOs to log in to the NITI Aayog-run portal that will issue a unique number to each of them.
“Provision has been made to enter the details of members of the (NGO’s) governing body as well,” the report said quoting a government document circulated ahead of Inter-State Council meeting on Saturday.
“This will enable a good repository of such organisations, their areas of work and their members,” it added.
The idea to get NGOs to enrol on the portal was first floated during the erstwhile UPA regime and it had even convinced the NGOs on the issue. But it couldn’t force them to get registered.
The HT report also stated that most states are expected to readily agree to the database as it will help them too.
The government’s decision to crack the whip has not gone well with civil society organisations who recently came together to critique the implementation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
At an event organised in capital last month, the group noted that the foreign funding of NGOs declined by half, from Rs 13,600 crore recorded in 2013-14 to just Rs 7,600 crore in last fiscal.
In April last year alone, the government cancelled the registrations of almost 9,000 organisations for not having filed their returns.
The civil society organisations are of the view that the law was being used to intimidate potential dissidents.
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