Suspending the Registration of Greenpeace India
Various Inputs were received that provisions of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 are being violated by Greenpeace India Society, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Standard questionnaire was served to the association. After receipt of reply to the standard questionnaire, as there were prima-facie violations of FCRA, 2010, an on-site inspection of accounts and records of the Greenpeace India Society, Chennai, Tamil Nadu was conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs from 24th to 27th September, 2014. During the course of the inspection the following violations were noticed:-
a) Transferred Foreign contribution to other than FCRA designated bank accounts in violation of Section 17 of FCRA, 2010.
b) Under reported and repeatedly mentioned incorrect amount of Foreign Contribution received in violation of Section 33 of FCRA, 2010
c) Incurring more than of 50% of the Foreign Contribution on administrative expenditure in violation of section 8(1)(b) of FCRA, 2010.
d) Replacement of 50% or more of the executive committee members without obtaining prior approval of Ministry of Home Affairs which is a violation of the undertaking & declaration given by the association in its application for registration under Rule 9(1)(a) of FCR Rules, 2011.
e) Foreign NGO funding legal costs not only of bail, but also of writ petitions etc. of Indian NGOs and their activists, thereby violating Section 8(1)(a) of FCRA, 2010
f) Shifting of office and activities from Chennai, Tamil Nadu to Bengaluru, Karnataka without approval/intimation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, violation of Rule 9(1)(a) of FCR Rules, 2011.
g) Transferred foreign contribution to a non-FCRA registered NGO by payment of salary of its employees which amounts to violation of Section 7 of FCRA, 2010.
h) Suppressed and not disclosed payment of salary by foreign NGO to a foreign activists who worked on secondment which is a violation of Section 33 of FCRA, 2010.
The above violations were communicated to the association for their comments. After receipt of the comments from the association, the matter was examined in the Ministry and subsequently, the registration granted to the association under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 has been suspended on 09th April, 2015 for 180 days and a show cause notice was issued to the association as to why its registration should not be cancelled. Simultaneously, seven bank accounts of Greenpeace India Society which were found to be involved in transacting foreign contribution have been frozen to prevent further transactions.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to a question by Shri Paul Manoj Pandian in the Rajya Sabha today.
