Day after Ladakh violence, govt cancels FCRA licence of Wangchuk’s NGO

The Centre had said Wednesday that the “mob was incited” by Wangchuk’s “provocative statements”. It said “certain politically motivated individuals were not happy with the progress” in the ongoing talks between the representatives of the government and Ladakh groups, and “have been trying to sabotage the dialogue process”.

A day later, a government order signed by MHA Deputy Secretary Rajesh Kumar T said: “Considering the facts and position narrated by the organisation, the Competent Authority, hereby, in exercise of the powers conferred under section 14(1) of the Act, cancels with immediate effect the FCRA Certificate of Registration granted to the association – Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh.”

The order said that the organisation was served a show cause notice on August 20, followed by a letter dated September 10, asking why its FCRA registration certificate should not be cancelled.

The order said the organisation’s reply, on September 20, was examined and several violations were found.

In its order Thursday, the MHA said Wangchuk deposited Rs 3.5 lakh in the FCRA account of the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh in violation of Section 17 of the Act during the financial year 2021-22.

In its reply to this alleged violation, the organisation stated that it had deposited Rs 3,35,000 in the FCRA account as it was the sale proceeds of an old bus that had been procured from FCRA funds.

The MHA, however, called this reply untenable, stating: “It seems that the amount has been received in cash in violation of section 17 of the Act which is not properly disclosed by the association in its reply.”

“Further, an amount of Rs 3,35,000 has been intimated by the association… as FC donation from Sonam Wangchuk. However, this transaction is not reflected in FCRA account in violation of section 18 of the Act,” the order said.

The order said that during 2020-21, local funds amounting to Rs 54,600 were deposited in the FCRA account of the association by three individuals (Rs 18,200 each), again in violation of Section 17.

Wangchuk’s NGO replied that the sum was received from volunteers towards their food and accommodation but was mistakenly transferred into the FCRA account instead of the local account.

The MHA also said that as per the accounts receivable for 2021-22, the association received Rs 4,93,205 from foreign donors in violation of section 12(4) of the Act.

While the organisation said that the donation was for creating awareness among youth, the government said one of the topics meant to be studied, as per the NGO’s reply, was on the “sovereignty of the country”, which was illegal.

“As per annual returns… for 2020-21, it has received foreign contribution of Rs 79,200. However, the same has not been credited in the FCRA bank account. It is suspected that such funds have been received in local bank accounts in contravention of section 17 of the Act,” the MHA alleged.

In its reply, the association said the amount of Rs 79,200 was directly deducted from staff salaries and fellows stipends, and therefore no separate transaction took place. “Since. it was deducted at source as food fees, it was recorded in the books of accounts as food fee receipts, and the same amount was utilized towards food,” it said

The MHA, however, said in its order: “As clarified by the association that the amount of Rs79,200 was directly deducted from salary of the staff, it means that this amount was never disbursed to the staff and hence treatment of this amount as other receipts from projects/activities is incorrect. This indicates that the account of the association is not well maintained.”

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