Round The States

New Delhi, 8 January 2015

NGOs’ Funding

CENTRE TIGHTENS NOOSE

By Insaf

Grassroot development work in various States is sadly going to be hit. This is an interpretation one may have after the Centre made it known to the Supreme Court that it is contemplating putting a stop on grant of funds to those NGOs which failed to regularly file their accounts of the preceding three years. Undeniably, this is bad news for defaulting NGOs among the 24 lakh-odd registered in the country. The concern came up following a PIL seeking an inquiry against social activist Anna Hazare’s Hind Swaraj Trust. However, the Court enlarged the scope and had ordered an inquiry against all registered NGOs and whether these had regularly filed income-expenditure statement. Since then, a CBI inquiry has shockingly found that only about 10 per cent of the NGOs have filed their requisite financial statements. In numbers, it boils down that a mere 2.23 lakh NGOs in 20 States have filed their balance sheets before the Registrar of Societies! Worse, not all States have obliged the CBI with the information of the NGOs registered, with Tamil Nadu and Telangana being identified. Obviously, the system has shortfall. However, at the end there may be good news --  misuse of Government funds will be plugged. Will the NGOs set their house in order? 

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Chhattisgarh Introspection

The Raman Singh Government in Chhattisgarh is in introspection mode. It is surprised and unhappy with the municipal election results. Hoping to repeat its Assembly and Lok Sabha performance, the BJP suffered a major setback when it won in only four municipal corporations, wherein it was ruling in six. Its rival, the Congress is upbeat. Not only has it managed to win four mayoral posts, it has an equal number of seats in Council, 16 like the BJP, which is down from 29 in the 40 Municipal Councils. The fact that Raipur mayor’s seat has gone to the Congress and its Brahmin candidate sets off warning bells for the BJP and an upset RSS.  In the 105 Nagar Panchayats too, the Congress won 50, the BJP 37 and the rest 18 independents. The reasons for BJP’s poor showing are: the anti-incumbency factor, the Government’s mishandling of the sterilisation camp tragedy, wherein the removal of the health minister may have been helped cool tempers and the High Command giving the PCC President Bhupesh Bhagel a free hand to choose his team and run the campaign. Chief Minister Singh shall now undertake “corrective measures” for the ensuing Panchayat elections. What will these be and how soon, is going to be under close watch.

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Bengal-Centre Bonhomie?

Has West Bengal finally struck a note of bonhomie with the Centre? The question has been doing the rounds, thanks to the ‘Bengal Global Business Summit’ in Kolkata. Not only did Finance Minister Arun Jaitley share the dais with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but the two spoke in terms of “working together” for mutual growth at the inauguration. Showcasing  her government’s investor-friendly agenda of plenty of land (7,000 acres), skilled manpower and IT policy, Mamata reached out to Jaitley in her typical style saying ‘if States are strong, so also will be the Centre.’ While he promptly responded assuring Centre’s support to her Government, Jaitley had his say too-- “you have the mandate to rule the State, and therefore the responsibility to deliver, what is promised.”  The audience would be sharp to understand the nuances. While both sought to suggest that political differences would not block the road to development, time will tell whether the Summit bore fruit. A comparison would be worthwhile aftermath of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit next week.

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Odisha On BJP Radar

Odisha is now on the BJP’s hit list. After his two-day tour in the Naveen Patnaik BJD-ruled State, Party President Amit Shah exudes confidence that the next Government would be of the BJP. However, he too knows that the challenge is tough, if not impossible. For how else does one explain the preparations being afoot four years in advance! With the Assembly elections due only in 2019, Shah has realized that the State unit has to strengthen its base, as hitting out at the State government is not enough. Recall that the BJD broke its 11-year-old alliance with the NDA in March 2009 after the Kandhamal riots and has fared well since. In the recent Lok Sabha elections it won 20 of the 21 seats and 117 of the 147 Assembly seats. Apparently, Shah has struck when the iron is hot, what with Naveen under fire over the chit fund scam and perhaps ‘losing support’. Sensing that the time is perhaps ripe, the BJP plans to go all out to increase its cadre base—from the present six lakhs to a target of “40 lakhs.” A tall order, but then Shah did change the party’s fortune in UP, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Reason enough for Naveen to be worried?           

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Mizoram ‘Dumping Ground’?

Mizoram has sound reason to be peeved with the Centre. It has now transferred Governor of Uttarakhand Aziz Qureshi to be the State’s new Governor. Not only is he the sixth Governor in six months announced by New Delhi, but is one among the list who had been asked by the NDA government to quit. While the Mizos would have nothing against Qureshi, they are upset about the State getting a reputation of becoming a “dumping ground” for the Centre. Recall that in these past months, the Modi Government has tried to ease out Governors appointed under the UPA regime. After sitting Governor Purushothaman resigned in protest against his transfer to Nagaland for ‘not being consulted’, the State was sent various names as those ‘appointed’ as Governor: Former Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal was fired soon after taking charge, Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan quit soon after his transfer, Manipur Governor Duggal took additional charge but too quit, KK Paul then Governor of Meghalaya was given additional charge of both Mizoram and Manipur until he was transferred to Uttarakhand. Undeniably, the string of ‘appointments’ and ‘rejections’ has left the Mizos baffled and angry. Will the Centre mend its ways please? 

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Karnataka’s Shame

Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru may soon end up having the reputation of being a rape city. Worse, the victims are innocent young school girls! On Wednesday last, yet another case of alleged child abuse came to the fore, with tempers running high amongst local residents of JJ Nagar, West Bangalore. The mob vandalized the school where a seven-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a physical education teacher. The police had to resort to teargas and lathicharge to disburse the crowds, which had also locked up the classrooms from outside. While the teacher has been arrested, the government must think out-of-box to bring a halt to such cases, which sadly are on the rise in the city, reputed as an IT hub of the country. Last year, several cases of sexual exploitation of minor school girls were reported --in October, a three-year-old girl student was allegedly sexually abused inside a private school; in August, an eight-year-old girl was reportedly sexually assaulted by her 63-year-old teacher inside the school premises over a period of time and in September, there was ‘gang-rape’ of a six-year-old girl at another school. Time the Siddaramaiah Government ensures safety of school kids. Enough is enough.

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)