Civil society must also be held accountable
The Union Government's decision to closely monitor foreign funds received by non-Government organisations is an important step towards ushering India's civil society into an age of transparency and accountability. While much of the recent focus has been on Greenpeace India, whose foreign funds coming in from two of its primary donors, Greenpeace International and Climate Works Foundation, have been on hold until each transaction is individually cleared by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it's important to keep in mind that the ongoing tightening of laws is expected to put under the scanner 40,000 other similar non-profits as well. This was much needed. For far too long, the non-profit sector has evaded any serious public scrutiny. This has created a putrid environment of corruption and nepotism that, needless to say, has had an adverse impact on the rightful role that NGOs must play. NGOs challenge the status quo, they add new ideas to the conversation and also act as a watchdog. Indeed, an alert and vibrant civil society, much like a free Press, is one of the most crucial pillars that uphold democratic society. And this is precisely why the functioning of civil society itself should be above board at all times. Unfortunately, the figures tell a different story. For instance, last December, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had reported that NGOs in India received an estimated Rs12,500 crore from abroad in 2013 alone but only two per cent of the 20 lakh registered outfits reported their foreign donations. It had also warned that the sector was vulnerable to the risks of “money laundering and terrorist financing”. Similar observations have also been made by the Central Bureau of Investigation. In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the country's premier investigating agency observed that several NGOs do not submit details of receipt of grants (foreign and domestic) and their spending to income tax authorities. And then there is the Intelligence Bureau's damning report to the Prime Minister's Office on foreign-funded NGOs and their alleged ‘anti-development' agenda. Indeed, it will hardly be a stretch to suggest that quite a few NGOs have perverted their claims of representing the people's interests so as to put themselves on a higher pedestal and avoid public scrutiny. They need to be put in their places.
It is against this backdrop that the Union Government's decision to monitor the foreign funds received by Greenpeace India must be viewed. The non-profit, which has opposed several Government initiatives from genetically modified crops to coal mining to nuclear energy, received from its foreign donors Rs10 crore, almost half of its estimated operating budget, in the 2012-2013 fiscal, according to data disclosed by law under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2011. Now, irrespective of whether one accepts the label of “threat to national economic security” that has been slapped on the environment advocacy group by the Intelligence Bureau, there is a legitimate concern that, through organisations such as Greenpeace India, foreign institutional donors with deep pockets can have a disproportionate impact on the larger debate of what constitutes sustainable development.