Sadhana Trust also among thousands of others in list; but Hamid says they had already cancelled their registrations
In a first, the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) and Sadhana Trust — non-governmental organisations (NGOs) founded by late rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar that crusade against superstition and social stigmas — seem to be on the wrong side of the law. Both are under the scanner of the Foreigners division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010.
On Tuesday, the MHA issued a showcause notice to MANS and Sadhana Trust, headquartered in Pune, along with 5,922 other NGOs all across the country, for failing to upload the annual return form since 2010. These NGOs may face cancellation of registration under FCRA and may not be able to accept foreign funding or donations anymore. They have to submit their clarification before July 23, failing which they will face cancellation of registration. Earlier in May, these NGOs had received notices to submit their missing annual returns pertaining to the financial years from 2010-11 to 2015-16 within a month, but they reportedly not heeded the warning.
MHA director Santosh Sharma, in his notice sent to MANS and Sadhana Trust, said, "We have issued show-cause notices, followed by regular email alerts and SMS alerts, to these organisations from May this year. The public notices were also served on MHA and PIB websites. However, despite sufficient and adequate notice, it has been observed that 5,922 NGOs have not uploaded their annual returns for three or more than three years."
Sharma asked the NGOs to furnish their replies through mail within 15 days of the notice, failing which it will be presumed that the associations have nothing to say in this regard. "Their FCRA registration will be cancelled after the expiry of 15 days without any further notice, in accordance with the provisions of FCRA, 2010," the notice added.
An officer from the state's home department told Mirror on condition of anonymity, "Apart from MANS and Sadhana Trust, there are other institutes from the state that are also part of this list, including Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Maharshi Vinod Research Foundation, Vidya Pratishthan, Pune Jilha Kushtrog Niyantran Samiti, Gokhale Institute among others."
But Dr Hamid Dabholkar, MANS general secretary and son of the late Dabholkar, vehemently denied being in the wrong, saying instead, "The entire list of MHA is based on old records which has not been updated, despite the cancellation of our registration four years ago. After constant allegations, we already informed the MHA and surrendered our FCRA registration in 2013 itself. We have not been receiving any foreign funds for four years now. The issue had been cleared by then state home minister R R Patil in the Assembly as well. However, the list has defamed us for no reason."
He continued, "No FCRA account exists in the name of MANS and neither have we renewed it. So far, we have sent six emails with documents to the MHA authorities so that they update the data. But there was no official response from them." When Mirror queried about the inclusion of Sadhana Trust in the list, Dabholkar said, "We do not know how the name of Sadhana Trust has appeared in the list because we never registered the trust under FCRA. This may be some other trust."
Despite Mirror's repeated attempts to reach Sharma to corroborate Dabholkar's claims, Sharma was unavailable for comment. Recently, over similar issues, the registration of several NGOs run by high-profile public figures like Teesta Setalvad had also been cancelled.
In a first, the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) and Sadhana Trust — non-governmental organisations (NGOs) founded by late rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar that crusade against superstition and social stigmas — seem to be on the wrong side of the law. Both are under the scanner of the Foreigners division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010.
On Tuesday, the MHA issued a showcause notice to MANS and Sadhana Trust, headquartered in Pune, along with 5,922 other NGOs all across the country, for failing to upload the annual return form since 2010. These NGOs may face cancellation of registration under FCRA and may not be able to accept foreign funding or donations anymore. They have to submit their clarification before July 23, failing which they will face cancellation of registration. Earlier in May, these NGOs had received notices to submit their missing annual returns pertaining to the financial years from 2010-11 to 2015-16 within a month, but they reportedly not heeded the warning.
MHA director Santosh Sharma, in his notice sent to MANS and Sadhana Trust, said, "We have issued show-cause notices, followed by regular email alerts and SMS alerts, to these organisations from May this year. The public notices were also served on MHA and PIB websites. However, despite sufficient and adequate notice, it has been observed that 5,922 NGOs have not uploaded their annual returns for three or more than three years."
Sharma asked the NGOs to furnish their replies through mail within 15 days of the notice, failing which it will be presumed that the associations have nothing to say in this regard. "Their FCRA registration will be cancelled after the expiry of 15 days without any further notice, in accordance with the provisions of FCRA, 2010," the notice added.
An officer from the state's home department told Mirror on condition of anonymity, "Apart from MANS and Sadhana Trust, there are other institutes from the state that are also part of this list, including Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Maharshi Vinod Research Foundation, Vidya Pratishthan, Pune Jilha Kushtrog Niyantran Samiti, Gokhale Institute among others."
But Dr Hamid Dabholkar, MANS general secretary and son of the late Dabholkar, vehemently denied being in the wrong, saying instead, "The entire list of MHA is based on old records which has not been updated, despite the cancellation of our registration four years ago. After constant allegations, we already informed the MHA and surrendered our FCRA registration in 2013 itself. We have not been receiving any foreign funds for four years now. The issue had been cleared by then state home minister R R Patil in the Assembly as well. However, the list has defamed us for no reason."
He continued, "No FCRA account exists in the name of MANS and neither have we renewed it. So far, we have sent six emails with documents to the MHA authorities so that they update the data. But there was no official response from them." When Mirror queried about the inclusion of Sadhana Trust in the list, Dabholkar said, "We do not know how the name of Sadhana Trust has appeared in the list because we never registered the trust under FCRA. This may be some other trust."
Despite Mirror's repeated attempts to reach Sharma to corroborate Dabholkar's claims, Sharma was unavailable for comment. Recently, over similar issues, the registration of several NGOs run by high-profile public figures like Teesta Setalvad had also been cancelled.
We already informed MHA and surrendered our FCRA registration in 2013. We have not been receiving any foreign funds for four years now. However, the list has defamed us for no reason
Source: http://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pune/civic/mans-pulled-up-for-not-disclosing-funds-from-foreign-shores/articleshow/59550621.cms
Source: http://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pune/civic/mans-pulled-up-for-not-disclosing-funds-from-foreign-shores/articleshow/59550621.cms
