Ford Foundation is now on home ministry's watch list
The government has added a prominent international charity, the Ford Foundation, to a list of groups that cannot fund Indian organisations without permission. This comes days after the Gujarat government complained that the organisation's funds to activist Teesta Setalwad's Trust were being misused.
The home ministry said on Thursday that it wanted to ensure that the funds are utilised for "bonafide welfare activities without compromising on concerns of national interest and security." A letter from the ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that the flow of funds from the US-based organization is brought to its notice.
The Gujarat government has accused the Ford Foundation of "interfering in the internal affairs" of the country and "abetting communal disharmony" through Ms Setalwad's trust Sabrang.
Ms Setalwad has been accused of embezzling funds meant for a museum for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims in Ahmedabad. She and her husband have for years fronted the campaign for justice for riot victims.
Ministry sources have told NDTV that it was found that NGOs funded by Ford had not filed balance sheets and annual reports. In the last few months, the government had blocked millions of dollars of grant from the Ford Foundation to NGOs, the sources said.
In a statement, the Ford Foundation said it has "officially learned that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reviewing information related to their ongoing investigation of Sabrang Communications and Publishing Pvt Ltd."
The Foundation said: "We are confident in our work and compliance with the law and look forward to the outcome of this inquiry."
NGOs and lobby groups have been under scrutiny since last year after a report by the Intelligence Bureau said they had been preventing economic growth by campaigning against power projects, mining and genetically modified food.
Earlier this year, the government barred Greenpeace India from receiving foreign funds, alleging it has "prejudicially affected the economic interest of the state. A Greenpeace India activist was prevented in January from boarding a flight to Britain, where she was scheduled to brief a parliamentary committee on mining activities in India.