NGOs receiving Rs 1 crore government grant to be under Lokpal

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In order to keep a check on the funding of NGOs, organisations receiving more than Rs one crore as government grant and donations above Rs 10 lakh from abroad have been brought under the ambit of the Lokpal.

Under the new rules, office bearers of such NGOs will be treated as "public servants" and charged under the anti-corruption law in case of irregularities, official sources said on Tuesday.

The Home Ministry has been made the "competent authority" to take action against executives of foreign-funded NGOs in case they are found misusing overseas grants, they said.

Any person who is or has been a director, manager, secretary or any other officer of a society, association of persons or trust (whether registered under any law for the time being in force or not), wholly or partly financed by the government, and the annual income of which exceeds Rs one crore will be under the Lokpal ambit, as per the new rules issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

The move comes close on the heels of the government cancelling licences of two NGOs — Lawyers Collective and Sabrang Trust — recently for allegedly misusing funds received from overseas.

The new rules will apply to the NGOs, Limited Liability Partnership firms or any such group partly or wholly financed by the central government.

Any of the top executives of the NGOs are supposed to file annual returns relating to receipt of donations from a foreign source "till such time the entire amount of the donation aforesaid, received by such society or association of persons or trust stands fully utilised", it said.

In case of NGOs receiving government grants here, the Minister-in-charge of a department of ministry giving the highest amount of aid to any such organisation will act as the competent authority to decide on action in the event of violations by them.