Real-time tracking of NGOs’ books soon

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry will soon be able to do real-time tracking of all foreign contributions made to NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010.The FCRA division of the ministry is adopting the Public Financial Management System (PFMS), a web-based application for payment, accounting and reconciliation of government transactions that will keep it up to date about the frequency, number and quantum of foreign contributions made to NGOs that have an FCRA licence.“As of now, once an NGO is registered, there is no way of tracking foreign contributions made to it unless it files returns as required under FCRA. Unfortunately, there have been many NGOs that failed to file returns for years together despite receiving crores of rupees in foreign contributions. Though their licence was later cancelled, they happily received and utilised the foreign contributions without the government learning the details of their utilisation,” said a government officer.Incidentally, the office-bearers of many such NGOs, after receiving foreign funds and then having their NGO’s licence cancelled over non-filing of FCRA returns, were found to have later floated a new NGO, many times with the same address."This leads us to suspect if the purpose of opening such defaulter NGOs was only to bring in foreign funds through a legal cover without having to account for the same," said a home ministry officer.Sources said around 150-200 NGOs who adopted this modus operandi have been identified by the home ministry. "We are examining the option of initiating a CBI probe into the affairs of such defaulter NGOs whose FCRA licence was cancelled over non-filing of returns, only for its officer-bearers to float a new NGO," the officer told TOI.