Sonia assures NGOs on CAG audit

The proposed repeal of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and replacing it with a more stringent Foreign Contribution Management and Control (FCMC) Act have now drawn the attention of Congress President and National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

She has assured that a law, proposed by the home ministry, to bring state-funded non-government organisations (NGOs) in the ambit of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's office, will also be given a rethink.

Gandhi met several representatives of non-government organisations, including those from the Voluntary Associations Network of India (VANI), and has written to Finance Minister P Chidambaram about the apprehensions of non-government organisations on the issue.

A copy of the letter has been sent to Home Minister Shivraj Patil, since it is his ministry, which is moving the second Bill on regulating domestic public funding. The Bill at present is being discussed by a group of ministers.

In a letter, dated August 10, 2005, AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot forwarded the concerns of NGOs to Chidambaram and Patil "for necessary action at your end".

The suggestions include the removal of clauses on repeated registration of non-government organisations receiving foreign contributions every two years and a ceiling on administrative costs incurred by them.

The idea behind the Bill is to have better control of funding so that only bona fide organisations receive foreign funding. The Bill raises security concerns as well.

Several church groups are also anxious about the proposed changes. That is because the Bill will also target church funding, especially from abroad.

According to sources, a group of 30 Christian members of Parliament, especially from the north-east and the south, led by Programme Implementation Minister Oscar Fernandes, met Gandhi to express concerns over the FCMC Act.

In fact, church groups have joined other voluntary organisations to lobby for support for their own amendments.

"The stringent provisions in the Bill make it seems as though all non-government organisations are only in the sector to make money or that, their is criminal intent," said Pooran Pande, convener of VANI.

"The voluntary sector deserves respect, as well as our opinion for a Bill regulating our sector," he said.