Finally, The Modi led NDA Government cracks the whip on the non-complying NGOs. It has decided to curb corruption in the NGOs and has made it compulsory for the Non-Governmental Organizations and Voluntary Organizations to register with NITI Aayog for receiving grants under various schemes by Central Government as well as Ministers.
For the implementation, the NGOs / VOs have to sign up on NGO-DARPAN Online portal. They’ll get a Unique ID, which they can use further for receiving grants from the Central government and Ministers. Till 24th November, 81,353 NGOs / VOs have already signed up on the redesigned NGO-DARPAN Online portal.
For signing up on the portal, Aadhar Card and PAN Card details of at least 3 office bearers of the organization will be required. Government has made it clear that no grant will be provided to any organization unless they submit the Unique ID obtained from the NGO-DARPAN Portal. Government is also ensuring that the end-to-end processing of applications from NGOs and VOs for allotment of grants remains transparent. It means we can keep record of the money allotted and the money utilized by them, in a clear transparent way.
It wasn’t an expected decision from the government. Ever since the Government’s onset, they have been trying to crack a whip on NGOs flouting norms and running on foreign funds, some of which are believed to be organizations with nefarious agenda. Some NGOs are also indulged in the act of Religious Conversions. And there is a firm belief in people’s mind that, “NGO is the easiest way to get CSR Funds from the industries.”
In 2013, one such incident of Relief Trust came to public notice in Delhi, where people questioned the NGO’s way of functioning. The NGO allegedly made changes in the documents provided by a doctor to get funds. Moreover the registration details that they provided of the then NGO Portal were found fake.
In a similar incident in 2015, Women and Child Development Ministry found that 90% applications from around 1400 NGOs to impart skill development training to women in rural areas under the Training and Employment Programme (STEP) were fake. They received a grant of Rs 30 crore. The scrutiny revealed that the NGOs applied multiple times by furnishing false details.
This is not an immediate step though, it all started way back in August 2015. The CBI made a list of NGOs in our country. There are nearly 31 lakh NGOs. Double the no. Of schools, 250 times the number of government hospitals. More often than not, the missions and NGOs convert into a continuous grant generation mechanism over a period of time. For e.g. If India becomes 100% literate then the grant spend on ‘Saksharta Mission’ would be stopped. This is one of the many reasons why NGOs never finish off their task. After all who will kill the hen that lays golden eggs?
Out of the total 31 lakhs, less than 10% i.e. only 2.9 lakhs NGOs were submitting their financial statements, i.e. Balance Sheets and Expenditure Statements.
Unknowingly we have all supported NGOs by donating small amounts, totally unaware of their dark underbelly. The “NGO scam” was going on clandestinely where people’s money both paid as taxes as well in the form of direct donations was being added to the NGO wealth. NGOs were a safe parking spot for black money next only to Real Estate. Hopefully after this decision the money will be utilized in a better way and the handful of NGOs that are actually doing good work continue to stay motivated.