India witnessing NGO boom, there is 1 for every 600 people Dhananjay Mahapatra

India witnessing NGO boom, there is 1 for every 600 people
NEW DELHI: For a country which till recently had a weak civil society movement, India is now witnessing a boom in the NGO sector. With a population of 1.2 billion, the country could well be the land of opportunities for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the Central Bureau of Investigation conservatively estimating 20 lakh of them already operating in states and union territories.

The mind-boggling figures boil down to one NGO per every 600 people. Compare this to the latest government data on police. According to the latest figures from the Union home ministry, India has just one policeman for every 943 people.

But there is an accountability deficit among the NGOs. And that's how CBI got into the picture as the Supreme Court responded to a PIL. Many don't submit details of receipt of grant and spending to income tax authorities, the CBI told the apex court.

On the SC's order, the CBI sought information from the states and UTs about operation of NGOs and status of audit of their funds. Major states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh — have provided no data about the number of NGOs operating in their territory.




Without the statistics from these major states, the CBI was informed by other states about the existence of 13 lakh NGOs making the agency conservatively estimate that their number could go well be over 20 lakh. In Uttar Pradesh alone 5,48,194 NGOs are operating.

Kerala had 3,69,137 NGOs, Maharashtra 1,07,797, Madhya Pradesh 1,40,000 and Gujarat has 75,729 NGOs. While Kerala and Maharashtra have given details of finances of the NGOs operating in their area, Madhya Pradesh gave partial information about their funding. Gujarat was completely silent.

According to information received through RTI queries by Asian Centre for Human Rights, the Union and state governments between 2002-09 released Rs 6654 crore to various NGOs, averaging almost Rs 950 crore per year.

For the financial year 2010-11, available data show that about 22,000 NGOs received a total of more than $2 billion from abroad, of which $650 million came from the US.

On a PIL filed by advocate M L Sharma alleging misuse of funds by Anna Hazare's NGO Hind Swaraj Trust (HST), a bench headed by Justice H L Dattu had last year asked additional solicitor general Sidharth Luthra to engage the CBI to find out details of the funding of NGOs across the country and whether these were filing their income tax returns.

From the information made available by the state governments and presented in tabular form by the CBI to the Supreme Court, it was apparent that most NGOs had not filed income tax returns regularly.

Responding to Sharma's PIL alleging that large amounts of government funds were being doled out without taking proper account of utilization of grants by NGOs, Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (Capart) in an affidavit denied any wrongdoing by HST and annexed an audited account for the utilization of Rs 1 lakh.

Capart had given a grant of Rs 1 lakh to Hazare-led HST for watershed development in three villages in 1999-2001,but more than 90% of the money was spent on honorarium, travelling, printing and stationery, the Supreme Court was told.

In two years, the trust spent Rs 63,243 on paying honorarium, Rs 20,347.50 was accounted towards travel expenses and Rs 6,487.50 was spent on printing and stationery. This means, of the Rs 1 lakh granted for watershed development in three villages, the trust spent Rs 90,078 on honorarium, travelling and printing and stationery.

Capart functions under the ministry of rural development and assists over 12,000 voluntary organizations across the country in implementing a wide range of development initiatives.

Why this sarpanch is headed to meet Obama

SUMMARY

From revamping PDS to building roads and planning for electricity in Dalit areas, Dhunkapada’s Arati Devi, India’s youngest sarpanch, can be proud of her two years

Uday Gouda, a septuagenarian in Dhunkapada, a small village in Ganjam’s Polasara block, remembers the ordeal he would face every monsoon. The 200-metre stretch between the main road in the village and his house was “a nightmare”. Often, he would have to raise his dhoti above his knee and wade through slush. Now a concrete path marks that stretch. “I had given up the hope of seeing any change, but for the sarpanch who raised funds for its construction,” says Gouda.

It is for bringing about such changes that Dhunkapada’s Arati Devi — a 28-year-old MBA and former investment banker who became the country’s youngest sarpanch less than two years ago — has won an invitation from the US State Department for the International Visitors Leadership Programme on state and local governments. During her three-week visit beginning February 18, she will meet President Barack Obama and attend the US Congress in session. The only Indian among the 21 foreign invitees, Devi joins the ranks of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and former presidents K R Narayanan and Pratibha Patil — all previous participants on the programme.

“In the relatively short time that she has headed the village council, she has earned admiration from villagers not only for her new approach to gender issues but also the public distribution system,” says Padmaja K, Information Assistant, Public Affairs Section, US Consulate, Hyderabad.

A much larger number of women now attend the palli sabha meetings at the Dhunkapada panchayat, which comprises three villages. Earlier, they would keep away as in the patriarchal and feudal hamlets, men would shout them down. “More than 1,000 people attend the palli sabha now. Earlier, palli sabhas would be rare and held without notice, so few people would come,” says Gitanjali Bhuyan, a villager. Routine domestic conflicts get sorted in panchayat meetings now. “We approach the local police station as a last resort,” says Bipracharan Padhi.

Devi’s first achievement was overhauling of the PDS, particularly helping APL families get wheat. When she found that APL families were being denied wheat by the PDS shops, she calculated that the families numbered around 800 and made sure each got its 5 kg of wheat a month share. Also, under her, the panchayat took over the public distribution of kerosene, that was  pilfered by the previous sarpanch.

Among the things the villagers are particularly grateful for are the roads. Two months ago, she got a 12-km road project worth Rs 1.25 crore sanctioned. The last time the roads in the panchayat were repaired was more than a decade ago. Another gap she’s tried to fill is that of schoolteachers. In one village high school, the physical education teacher and the Hindi teacher would take all the classes. She hired three more teachers on contract without waiting for help from the Orissa School and Mass Education Department. “The revenue we generated from village ponds was used to pay salaries,” she says. The department has agreed to pay the salaries of the teachers from this year.

Devi is now working on supplying electricity to Khadala Nuagaon, a Dalit-dominated locality of the panchayat, in the next two-three months. “We hope to watch TV at home,” laughs Sadana Sethi, a Dalit.

Devi’s open-door policy has gone a long way in helping her meet villagers’ expectations. Every day villagers converge at her home with their grievances — some with a demand for a house under the Indira Awas Yojana, some with a widow or old-age pension issue, and others about non-availability of PDS items. “By 9 am, I am out of my home travelling around the villages and following up with officials,” she says.

Her tenure has not been without bureaucratic challenges though. Dhunkapada, for example, is yet to be reimbursed for the money it spent on relief after cyclone Phailin hit Orissa last year. “To provide food, we spent Rs 30,000 from our meagre funds without waiting for help from the administration,” she says.  Villagers still remember the efforts she put in following the cyclone. “She convinced over 1,200 villagers to move to the panchayat office. She brought sackfuls of rice and jaggery on a bicycle for the villagers even as winds howled outside,” says Trinath Nayak.

However, Devi has her share of critics. Bipracharan Padhi, an elderly farmer, wants BPL families to be given power connection. Champa Behera, whose house was damaged by Phailin, complains it has still not been rebuilt. A few months ago, some Dalits lodged a police complaint accusing Devi of using casteist language against them. “I was surprised. When I met the Dalits, they said they had no idea what was written in the FIR. They were tutored by a few opponents of mine, who offered them BPL rice. They withdrew the FIR,” she says.

The incident led her to start an adult literacy programme called ‘Tipa nuhen dastakhat (No thumb impression, but signature)’ for villagers above 40. “None of the villagers should be taken for a ride,” she says.  On Devi’s list of agendas still is saving peacocks that get run over by vehicles and promoting the folk art of Ganjam. Few doubt she will be able to meet these.

15th Lok Sabha to end up as worst performing ever

NEW DELHI: In less than a month's time, the 15th Lok Sabha's term will come to an end with the dubious distinction of being the worst performing House since independence, passing the least number of bills (165) in a five-year term.

Of the 126 bills pending in Parliament, 72 are pending in the Lower House which means they will die when the new Lok Sabha is constituted. The remaining 54 bills pending in Rajya Sabhawill live to see another day but considering that the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill has been waiting for passage since 1987, there is not much hope for them either.

According to PRS Legislative Research, 39 bills lapsed at the end of the 14th Lok Sabha, 43 after the 13th Lok Sabha, 20 at the end of the short-lived 12th LS while only seven each lapsed after the first and second Lok Sabha. The fifth Lok Sabha was the most enterprising as 482 bills were passed during its term while the 12th Lok Sabha was the worst with only 56 bills passed, although in a truncated tenure.

One of the bills, championed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which will survive but is unlikely to be passed is the 119th Constitution Amendment Bill to implement the Indo-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement. The bill is in Rajya Sabha.

Human resource development ministry, which introduced a slew of legislations during Kapil Sibal's three years at the helm, has 13 bills pending in Parliament. Of these, 11 bills pending in Lok Sabha will become history, taking away the hard work and consulwtation involved in the process. This includes the Higher Education and Research Bill that would have subsumed UGC, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher Education; Universities for Research and Innovation Bill which could have facilitated setting up of universities devoted exclusively to research and innovation.
Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and 120th Constitution Amendment Bill that will replace the collegium system of appointment of judges are both awaiting the Rajya Sabha's nod. The two will survive but it remains to be seen if the new government takes them up or puts them on the backburner.


Congress scion Rahul Gandhi claims zero tolerance for corruption but a whole series of anti-graft legislations are waiting to be passed. Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the definition of bribery and bring other changes is in the upper House and is likely to survive but Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organizations Bill and the Whistleblowers' Bill, if not passed in the coming session of Parliament, will lapse as they are in the lower House. RTI Amendment Bill, which is facing stiff opposition from civil society groups, will also lapse.

The 15th Lok Sabha will disappoint women again. The Women's Reservation Bill proposing to reserve one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies was passed in Rajya Sabha but not introduced in Lok Sabha so that it does not lapse. But it remains a mere promise. However, two separate constitution amendment bills promising 50% reservation to women in panchayats and municipalities are stuck in Lok Sabha with little possibility of getting passed.

Times View

Legislators are elected to make laws. By not doing so, they fail in their primary duty and waste public money. The government and opposition will be quick to try and blame each other, but this represents a collective failure on the part of our MPs and shows a woeful lack of respect for the responsibility vested in them by the people they were elected to serve. Politicians often accuse courts of judicial overreach, but the truth is, the judiciary is being forced to step into a void that has been created because legislators are not legislating.