NEW DELHI: Draft guidelines outlining stringent regulations intended to enhance accountability of lakhs of NGOs and voluntary organisations receiving nearly Rs 1,000 crore of government grants every year were submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court on Wednesday .
The guidelines may seem exhaustive for most NGOs and VOs as they said organisations wanting to get government funds must register afresh online with Niti Aayog’s `NGO-Darpan’ portal giving details of past work, fund utilisation, yearly audit reports and key persons managing the NGO or VO.
It said the government would have the right to initiate criminal prosecution and blacklist an NGO for not meeting the deadline for completing a project for which grant was given or if money was misused.
"The registration system should facilitate seamless operation of applicable provisions of the Income Tax Act and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) with respect to NGOs without the need for cumbersome… processes, which create mutual distrust and scope for misuse," the draft guidelines said.
Please click here to access.