NGOs request PM to set up ministry for better coordination

The demand of Voluntary Action Network India (VANI), an apex body of voluntary organisations, has come against the backdrop of lack of a lawful mechanism in place.

In a letter to the prime minister recently, VANI said, voluntary organisations do not have any nodal ministry or even a department which can be a sounding board for the sector as well as to coordinate its affairs.

"In the absence of such a mechanism, there are no uniform reporting guidelines, systematic facilitative efforts, and it also prevents from developing productive partnerships between various development initiatives of the government and contribution of voluntary organisations.

"We suggest that an exclusive ministry for the voluntary sector, on the lines of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, can be carved out by the Union Government," Harsh Jaitely of VANI said in the letter.

He said a typical medium sized organisation has to report to more than 10 ministries with varying reporting requirements and no reliable data about the sector is available, leading to ambiguity.

"When we have a Press Council for Information and Broadcasting Ministry, a Bar Council for Law ministry why can't we have a similar mechanism for voluntary sector as well," he asked.

The voluntary sector is poised at a critical stage and requires concrete policy measures to safeguard its fundamentals, he said.

"There is a dire need of a National Registration Law for voluntary development organisations to have a more professional and effective mechanism in place rather than controlling it unilaterally," he added.