Koodankulam: NGOs facing action say no reason given

Many of the fishermen protesting against the nuclear plant belong to the Tuticorin diocese. Confirming the action against them,representatives of the RUC and the diocese denied charges of funding the protests.

Rural Uplift Centre

The MHA order issued to RUC,on February 9,said inspection of its account and records under Sections 20 and 23 of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act (FCRA) revealed that it had violated the provisions of the Act.

“Whereas the central government,having regard to the information and evidence in its possession,is satisfied that the acceptance of foreign contribution by the said association is likely to prejudicially affect the public interest… Therefore,in the exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 9 and 10 of the FCRA,2010 and without prejudice to the other provision of the Act,the central government hereby prohibits,in public interest,the association RUC to receive foreign contribution from the date of the issue of the order,’’ it said.

On February 21,the RUC,which has two priests and a couple of Christian laymen on its board,filed a revision petition saying the action was arbitrary and contrary to law. It also pleaded to the Home Minister to lift the action against them.

RUC secretary Maria James said they had nothing to do with the protests. “From 2005 to 2007,RUC handed over fishing boats,engines and nets to fishermen hit by the tsunami at Idinthakarai,where the residents are now holding the sit-in protests. But after completing that project in March 2007,we have not gone to the area with any scheme.’’

According to its records submitted to the MHA,in 2010-11 financial year,RUC got Rs 2.01 crore as foreign contributions,out of which it used up Rs 1.94 crore. In the current fiscal,RUC got Rs 1.76 crore till December 31. James said his organisation had not received any funds from the US since its inception in 1981.

Tuticorin Diocesan Association

The action against TDA and TMSSS began in the second week of November,three months after the sit-in protest started at Koodankulam. The MHA informed the diocese that the accounts of the two bodies would have to be examined “as there were reasons to believe that the provisions of FCRA appear to have been violated”.

The NGOs were sent a 32-point questionnaire seeking details about foreign aid received by them since 2006-07,including details on expenses,annual account statements and consolidated audit reports.

A two-member team from the MHA,led by an under secretary,reached Tuticorin,inspected the documents and conducted on-site inspections regarding utilisation of funds. About 10 days back,the TDA was informed that its FC account with the Bank of Baroda in Tuticorin was frozen.

According to the documents,TDA received Rs 3.60 crore as foreign contributions in 2010-11 fiscal. In the current fiscal,they received Rs 1.93 crore till December 31,2011. The donors are mainly from Italy,Germany,France,USA and Canada.

Under expenditure,the TDA has listed maintenance cost of priests,welfare of orphans,repairing places of worship and educational institutions,rural development activities and organising camps for drug addicts.

TDA spokesperson Fr William Santhanam said they had not undertaken any activity in Koodankulam and its surrounding areas in the current fiscal. In the last fiscal,they had constructed a toilet,at a cost of Rs 1.25 lakh,at the church-run primary school at Koodankulam,he said.

“How can the government allege that we distributed money to the protestors? An orphanage in the diocese is mainly dependent on foreign funding. We have strictly complied with the guidelines on foreign funding and submitted our audits every year,” he said.

“More funds came from foreign countries for tsunami rehabilitation. Then,the government wanted all NGOs to step up relief activities,and did not inspect the FC accounts. Now,they have come up with an agenda,’’ said Santhanam. Stating that his diocese had nothing to hide,he said,“we challenge the government to prove the charge”.

Tuticorin Multi-Purpose Social Service Society

The TMSSS has not received any communication from the ministry after being asked to furnish some documents on or before February 26 this year.

The ministry had sought an explanation regarding three points of dispute. The TMSSS was reported to have showed foreign contributions it had transferred to five other organisations in Tamil Nadu as its own project expenses. It was asked to provide detailed records regarding the utilisation of these funds. The second issue was the records for 2006-07,which were reportedly not maintained in proper condition,leading to damage of invoices and bills adding up to over Rs 55 lakh. Thirdly,the amount received from “Kolping India” in the last fiscal was found to be lower than the expenditure incurred.

TMSSS director Fr Maria Valan said his organisation received excess money from donors — Catholic Relief Services,Kindermissions Werk and Caritas Italiana — in the financial year 2006-07. He said the donors then “instructed them to transfer the money to five other organisations — Thanjavur Multipurpose Social Service Society,Valan Province of SAT,Tirunelveli,MOPEDE Trust,Trichy,Helan Flagrity Society for the Blind,Tirunelveli,and Auroville Foundation,Pondicherry.”

Of these,Auroville reportedly received the maximum contribution of Rs 48 lakh in two tranches,but failed to furnish bills and accounts for the expenses. The foundation is managed by an IAS official appointed by the central government.

Denying that funds had been diverted to the protestors at Koodankulam,Valan said: “At the villages near the power plant,we donated boats,fishing nets and other fishing equipment after the tsunami of December 2004. This post-tsunami intervention of the diocese has reduced in the subsequent years,as clearly demonstrated in our accounts.’’

The priest said the TMSSS had not spent any funds in the Koodankulam region ever since the agitation started August last year.

As per the data provided to the MHA,the TMSSS received Rs 69.40 crore between 2004 and 2011. The bulk of the amount went towards relief and rehabilitation of the tsunami victims. For instance,it got Rs 22.89 crore in 2005-06 of which Rs 20.64 was as tsunami fund. The next year,it got Rs 29.94 crore,which included Rs 25.05 crore for tsunami relief.

Subsequently,as the tsunami relief funds gradually decreased,the total funds received by TMSSS reduced to Rs 6.22 crore (Rs 3.20 for tsunami relief) in 2007-08,and Rs 2.16 crore,Rs 1.89 crore and Rs 2.51 crore in the following years — no funds were received under tsunami relief in the last three years.

In the last fiscal,TMSSS got Rs 4.83 lakh from Catholic Relief Service,Baltimore,USA,which,according to the organisation,was spent exclusively on the Sri Lankan refugees at three camps run by the state government in Tuticorin.

According to the documents,TMSSS received funds from Italy,Spain,Switzerland and the US,with Italy being the biggest donor. Apart from these,TMSS also gets fund from Caritas and Save a Family Plan,which has international footprints.