ANANYA SENGUPTA
New Delhi, Nov. 30: The social justice ministry has asked all non-government organisations working for the disabled to apply online for grants as part of an order aimed at ensuring transparency and a level playing field for emerging NGOs.
The order has come at a time the ministry, which is in charge of disbursing grants, has blacklisted five NGOs for alleged misappropriation of funds.
According to the order, NGOs will from now on have to apply on a designated website, www.ngograntsje.gov.in , with relevant documents before inviting a “grants in aid committee” — to be set up by the state government concerned — for an inspection of the proposed project.
So far, NGOs had to apply to the government concerned, which would set up committees that would report back with its recommendations on grants after a scrutiny. The state would forward the recommendations to the central ministry, which was expected to follow the recommendations.
What the order seeks to do is keep the central ministry, the funds disbursing authority, in the loop.
A senior official in the central ministry said the department of disability affairs has decided that from the “current (2014-15) financial year, all applications by NGOs seeking grant in aid for the disability sector shall be accepted online only”.
The order, sent to all chief secretaries and secretaries of all disability welfare departments in states, says the “grants in aid committee will ascertain through inspections carried out, the functioning and suitability of the NGOs applying for the grants”.
Inspecting officers would have to put their signature and seal with date at the end of their reports, which should “clearly mention whether the grant in aid is recommended or not”.
“Photographic evidence should also be enclosed with the report,” the order said.
The ministry said no further grants would be released to an NGO that has not submitted a funds-utilisation report for more than a year.
“This is a good initiative to bring in transparency in disbursement of grants. It has become a tradition in the sector to give grants to the same organisations over and over again. Only those NGOs that have some network in the states get their proposals approved through bureaucrats they know. These NGOs have learnt how to work the system,” said activist Javed Abidi, founder of the NGO Disability Rights Group.
“Emerging NGOs have no scope to break through this glass ceiling because of the nexus between the older organisations and the babus,” he added.
It was this alleged “nexus” that the ministry under the then UPA government had sought to break through an order this February when it issued “restrictions on interactions” of officials with representatives of NGOs seeking grants.
The ministry had authorised such interactions only at a “sufficiently higher level” — or officials above the rank of deputy secretary or director.
The order said any official “below this rank” found to be interacting with any such representative could be “liable to appropriate disciplinary action”.
The new order has made it mandatory for all NGOs that receive grants from the government to put up on their website details of beneficiaries along with their mobile numbers “for better monitoring and feedback of the services rendered”.
A member of the Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, who didn’t want to be named because he isn’t the authorised spokesperson, said it was “easier” for both NGOs as well as the ministry to have all the details online. “That way approvals can come quicker as we don’t have to run around with documents…. If it’s online, it’s like a central database.”
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141201/jsp/nation/story_19109182.jsp#.VHxcKNKUfCo
New Delhi, Nov. 30: The social justice ministry has asked all non-government organisations working for the disabled to apply online for grants as part of an order aimed at ensuring transparency and a level playing field for emerging NGOs.
The order has come at a time the ministry, which is in charge of disbursing grants, has blacklisted five NGOs for alleged misappropriation of funds.
According to the order, NGOs will from now on have to apply on a designated website, www.ngograntsje.gov.in , with relevant documents before inviting a “grants in aid committee” — to be set up by the state government concerned — for an inspection of the proposed project.
So far, NGOs had to apply to the government concerned, which would set up committees that would report back with its recommendations on grants after a scrutiny. The state would forward the recommendations to the central ministry, which was expected to follow the recommendations.
What the order seeks to do is keep the central ministry, the funds disbursing authority, in the loop.
A senior official in the central ministry said the department of disability affairs has decided that from the “current (2014-15) financial year, all applications by NGOs seeking grant in aid for the disability sector shall be accepted online only”.
The order, sent to all chief secretaries and secretaries of all disability welfare departments in states, says the “grants in aid committee will ascertain through inspections carried out, the functioning and suitability of the NGOs applying for the grants”.
Inspecting officers would have to put their signature and seal with date at the end of their reports, which should “clearly mention whether the grant in aid is recommended or not”.
“Photographic evidence should also be enclosed with the report,” the order said.
The ministry said no further grants would be released to an NGO that has not submitted a funds-utilisation report for more than a year.
“This is a good initiative to bring in transparency in disbursement of grants. It has become a tradition in the sector to give grants to the same organisations over and over again. Only those NGOs that have some network in the states get their proposals approved through bureaucrats they know. These NGOs have learnt how to work the system,” said activist Javed Abidi, founder of the NGO Disability Rights Group.
“Emerging NGOs have no scope to break through this glass ceiling because of the nexus between the older organisations and the babus,” he added.
It was this alleged “nexus” that the ministry under the then UPA government had sought to break through an order this February when it issued “restrictions on interactions” of officials with representatives of NGOs seeking grants.
The ministry had authorised such interactions only at a “sufficiently higher level” — or officials above the rank of deputy secretary or director.
The order said any official “below this rank” found to be interacting with any such representative could be “liable to appropriate disciplinary action”.
The new order has made it mandatory for all NGOs that receive grants from the government to put up on their website details of beneficiaries along with their mobile numbers “for better monitoring and feedback of the services rendered”.
A member of the Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, who didn’t want to be named because he isn’t the authorised spokesperson, said it was “easier” for both NGOs as well as the ministry to have all the details online. “That way approvals can come quicker as we don’t have to run around with documents…. If it’s online, it’s like a central database.”
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141201/jsp/nation/story_19109182.jsp#.VHxcKNKUfCo
