The government on Wednesday passed the Lokpal and Lokayukta amendment bill changing provisions which made it mandatory for senior management personnel working with NGOs to disclose their assets and liabilities.
In the process the bill brought relief to lakhs of public servants who were supposed to declare their assets by July 31.
The amendment also addressed its dispute with the Opposition making the "leader of the single largest party" part of the selection committee instead of the Leader of Opposition. With Congress having only 44 members in the present Lok Sabha, there is no Leader of Opposition.
Minister for personnel Dr Jitender singh said the amendments will now be scrutinized by a parliamentary standing committee which will give its report before next session of Parliament. What this would mean is that public servants will get relief from declaring their assets till the standing committee gives its report.
The original Lokpal act of 2013 had brought NGOs within the purview of Lokpal by defining Directors and Office Bearers of NGOs as public servant and made it mandatory for them to make their assets public.
Section 44 of the original act said, "any person who is or has been a director, manager, secretary or officer of… [a] society or association of persons or trust (whether registered under any law for the time being in force or not), by whatever name called, wholly or partly financed by the government and the annual income of which exceeds such amount as the central government may, by notification, specify.”
On June 20th this year government through a notification brought all NGOs who receive FCRA of 10 lakh or Central government grant of one crore.
The NGO sector was worried after this notification as they were asked to file detail of their assets, debts and other liabilities by July 31.
Being defined as "public servant" meant the NGO office bearer were also facing the prospect of being prosecuted under the prevention of corruption act.
The Lokpal amendment bill was not listed in Wednesday's list of business and was suddenly introduced by Dr. Jitender Singh much to the objection of the Opposition members who questioned the urgency.
Assuring opposing MPs like CPI(M)'s Mohd Salim and TMC's Kalyan Banerjee the minister said, 'Section 44 has certainly created urgency to get the amendments passed before July 31 as the government cannot do it on its own.'
The Narendra Modi government has prosecuted many including NGOs like Greenpeace and Teesta Setalvad's Sabrang trust for FCRA violation.
But the decision to take NGOs out of the purview of Lokpal is bound to be welcomed by this sector.
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