FCRA Cancellation Forces NGO to Lay Off its 80-Odd Staff  

Ahmedabad: Facing cash crunch after the cancellation of FCRA licence, Gujarat-based NGO Navsarjan Trust, which was working for Dalit rights for the last 27 years, has sought resignation of its 80-odd employees and said that the three schools run by it shall be closed.

Macwan founded this NGO in 1989 to fight for the rights of Dalits and to take up issues concerning them, such as manual scavenging and social boycott.

Managing Trustee of Navsarjan Trust, Martin Macwan said the NGO was unable to pay for the salaries of its staff after the Centre revoked its licence to get foreign funds under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

Macwan founded this NGO in 1989 to fight for the rights of Dalits and to take up issues concerning them, such as manual scavenging and social boycott. According to him, the NGO needs around Rs 2.75 crore annually to meet various expenses.

"We are largely dependent on the funds from foreign sources to meet our expenses, which runs into Rs 2.75 crore per annum. About 85 per cent of that comes from foreign countries. Now, as our FCRA licence has been cancelled, it is impossible to run our operations or to pay salaries from what we get from local sources," said Macwan.

Apart from running various awareness programs for the upliftment of Dalits across the state, the NGO also runs three schools, one each in Ahmedabad, Surendranagar and Patan district. Now, these schools, where 102 students of 5th standard to 9th standard, are enrolled, are on the verge of closure, said Macwan.

"These three schools, which impart education to 102 students of extremely poor Dalit and tribal communities, are having 12 teachers. Now, we have to shut these schools too, as we are unable to pay their salaries and meet other operational expenses. These teachers will be asked to leave only after the completion of this academic session," said Macwan.

A week back, seven NGOs, including Navsarjan Trust, were barred by the Centre government from receiving foreign funds after their FCRA licences were cancelled following alleged adverse intelligence reports against them.

The decision has been taken after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) conducted an inquiry into the functioning of the NGOs whose FCRA licences were renewed in the recent past.

Official sources had claimed that there were adverse intelligence inputs against these NGOs, ranging from allegedly working against public interest by using foreign funds, painting the government as "anti- Dalit" abroad, besides others.

According to Macwan, Centre targeted his organization because it highlighted the recent incident at Una town in Gir-Somnath district, where four Dalit youths were thrashed by cow vigilantes.

Navsarjan Trust along with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) submitted a fact-finding report to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in August on the Una incident.

In the 11-page report, which is replete with photographs of the flogging and victims’ confinement in police lock-up without booking any case against them, they sought immediate arrest of the remaining accused involved in the attack and plotting the conspiracy, which, according to the report, includes “police and village head”.

In the report, they had demanded a probe into the Una Dalit flogging incident by two sitting judges of the Gujarat High Court, completion of the probe and filing of the chargesheet within 60 days, setting up of a special court for speedy trial of the case, payment of Rs 10 lakh compensation to each of the victims and appointment of at least two “credible and genuine special public prosecutors in this case”.

PTI