Intelligence Bureau, RAW nod must for NGOs

Following the fiasco over the renewal of licence of controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s NGO under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the home ministry plans to put in place a stringent mechanism of security checks before the licences of NGOs which receive foreign donations are renewed in future. According to the proposal, clearance will have to be taken from two key intelligence agencies, Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing, before the licence of any NGO registered under FCRA is renewed.

As of now, clearance for renewal of these NGOs is done by the foreigners’ division of the home ministry which, after checking the returns filed by the organisation and other relevant documents, extends the licence for a period of three years. However, the ministry now plans to make it mandatory for NGOs to get a security clearance before their licence is renewed.

The proposed procedure will be similar to the one the ministry follows for foreign direct investment proposals. Security check and clearance by both IB and R&AW is mandatory for the home ministry to clear the proposal before the parent ministry can take the FDI project forward.

In case of an adverse report from security agencies, the NGOs will be given adequate opportunity to explain their position as a show cause notice would be issued to them before taking any further action.

The home ministry had suspended four officials, including the concerned joint secretary who was heading the foreigners’ division, when Mr Naik’s NGO, Islamic Research Foundation, got its FCRA licence renewed. After rectifying the error, the ministry had put Mr Naik’s NGO under the “prior permission category,” which means the Reserve Bank will have to seek the home ministry’s clearance before releasing foreign donations to the organisation.

NGOs that are registered with the ministry under the FCRA do not have to take prior permission before receiving foreign contribution but have to file their annual returns with the concerned division, giving details of their income and expenditure incurred.

Sources said ever since the error of renewing Mr Naik’s NGO came to light, the ministry has been deliberating how such mistakes can be avoided in future. The Islamic Research Foundation is being investigated by multiple agencies both by the Centre and the Maharashtra Government.

“The obvious thing we can do is to run a security check on the background of the NGO and seek a detailed report from the intelligence agencies. They will give us a detailed report as to whether the source of funding for such NGOs was above suspicion and if the funds were utilised for the purpose they were meant for. The agencies will also keep us informed if the concerned organisations are indulging in any kind of anti-national activities or not like fomenting communal trouble or trying to de-rail economic growth,” a senior ministry official said.