Govt uproots 4,470 NGOs under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act

In the second round of crackdown on NGOs, the central government on Tuesday cancelled the licence of 4,470 such set-ups.

The government's whip to regulate NGO operations has also hit entities like top universities in the country.

The Union home ministry cancelled the registration of these NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) after going through their activities. One of the reasons cited for the strong action was non-filing of annual returns by these NGOs.

The MHA claimed that notices were given by the ministry's foreigners division before the action was taken.

Prominent organisations whose FCRA licences stands cancelled include Chandigarh-based Panjab University, Gujarat National Law University, Delhi University's Gargi College, Lady Irwin College in Delhi, Vikram Sarabhai Foundation and Kabir, an NGO floated by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

The Centre had cancelled licences of nearly 9,000 NGOs in April last year for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

The government had also taken action against Greenpeace India when its activist Priya Pillai was offloaded from a London-bound flight by immigration officers at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in January this year.

She was to address British parliamentarians in the UK.

The Delhi High Court later overturned the action by the Home Ministry and Pillai's "offload" passport stamp was expunged in May.

The HC also ordered quashing of the Look Out Circular in Pillai's name that the offload stamp be expunged and she be removed from any IB database.

Greenpeace India was at loggerheads with the Centre over the action.

In April, the government had also blocked Greenpeace India's bank accounts, following which the environmental group had to seek interim relief from the Delhi HC.

The government had also blocked funding from the US-based Ford Foundation without mandatory permission from the Home ministry.

On Saturday, a crisis response campaigner with Greenpeace International, Aaron Gray-Block, was denied entry into India after landing in Bengaluru as his name figured in a Home ministry "black list".

A senior MHA official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak on the record, said the ministry would question the immigration officials to learn why they blocked his entry.

The fresh round of cancellation process of the 4,470 NGOs started on May 6 and the highest number of such voluntary organisations - as many as 971 - was de-registered on Tuesday.