The CBI now focuses its eagle eyes on truant NGOs for alleged misuse of funds
THE latest sector now to come under the
scrutiny of the nation's premier investigative organisation _' 'the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - are 61
NGOS. These were among'the 564 that
had been blacklisted by the Council for
Advancement of People's Action and
Rural Technology (CAPART) in mid- 1995
for misappropriation of funds.
"While the list of these NGOs had
been forwarded @ous by the ministry of
rural development, we have been given
to understand that legal measures for
recovery of misappropriated funds have
already been initiated by the ministry,"
states a CB1 spokesperson. According to
him, the CB1 would be investigating the
financial dealings of the NGOs.
The ministry, on its part, is reported
to be considering the enactment of a
special legislation to ensure recovery of
funds allotted to organisations which
are found to be involved in financial
irregularities. The Union urban development minister, Jagannath Mishra,
stated that a handful of truant NGos had
tainted the otherwise clean-slated
welfare sector.
"We had given time to most organisations to mend their mays. We see this
action as a positive step that would
ensure better implementation of rural
developmental projects," he added.
cAPART has a budget of Rs 208 crore
and funds nearly 7,500 NGOS in India. Of
2,000 NGos audited by cAPART, malpractices worth over Rs 15 crore had been
discovered, with overall estimates suggesting misappropriation of much larger
amounts. Critics, however, are quick to
point out that while such 'steps may
deter other NGOS from misusing funds,
the actual malaise lay in the disbursement of funds.
- "It is a fact that the flow of aid is
treated as a mere deal, with as much as
30 per cent of the funds lining the pockets of middlemen," said a Voluntary
Action Network of India spokesperson.
The general secretary of the Association
of Voluntary Agencies for Rural
Development went further, saying,
11 CAPART is better known for its nexus
with corrupt NG0s and politicians."
Anuparn Mishra of the Gandhi
Peace Foundation says, "With the number of foreign philanthropic organisations willing to pour money for poverty
alleviation, and the close links that NGO@
tend to develop at the grassroots levels,
some form of checks and balances are absolutelyneccessary."
To keep a closer tab on the
welfare sector, the ministries of
urban development and environment and forests have
gone ahead with its decision
to appoint a van mukhiya in
every panchayat, in an attempt
to curb the malady right in the
grassroot stage.
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