Problem of plenty

Sopan Corespondent/ Shillong

Many NGOs in North-East have links with terrorist outfits and recieve funds from dubious agencies
A recent survey found that North-East states like south India have been a fertile land for non-governmental organizations. For instance, in Tripura, is abounding in the number of NGOs disproportionate to its population. According to the census, the total population of Tripura is 35 lakh. But the number of registered NGOs in the state is 4963 as on February 28, 2006. There is no count of unregistered NGOs.
According to government sources, the surge in the registration of NGOs is a recent phenomenon and it came to light after the Centre came out with a list of default NGOs. Another interesting aspect of this sudden spurt of NGOs is that most of them have mentioned their area of operation as Women Development/Empowerment. Why is there a sudden interest in the welfare of women?, asks a Mahendra Singh, himself an NGO activist.
"Going by the sheer number of NGOs and the money being spent through them by the government and other agencies, the tiny state would have become a developed state by now," he said. But the social indicators of the state present a dismal picture.
The Social Welfare Board under the Central government blacklisted 69 voluntary organisations for financial misappropriation in the state. All these non-governmental organisations have taken financial assistance from the Department for various projects for which they have not submitted either status report or carried out the development project for which the funds were intended. This is for the first time that a large number of voluntary organisations have been targeted.
The Central Social Welfare Board was set up by a Resolution of Government of India dated 12th August, 1953 with the object of promoting social welfare activities and implementing welfare programmes for women, children and the handicapped through voluntary organizations. Till 1969 the Board functioned as a limb of the Government and then it was registered as a charitable company under the companies Act to give a legal status to the Board.
The Board was given the dual responsibility of taking welfare services to the disadvantage sections of society especially women and children, and also developing a nationwide infrastructure of voluntary agencies through which these services could be made available.
The bogus voluntary organisations see the Central Social Welfare Board as a milch cow. Since there are many schemes for uplift of women, most of these agencies prepare detailed proposals and approach the Board for funds.
Most of the voluntary organisations running in the state have the support of powerful politicians and the bureaucrats in the state. Although questions were raised in the Assembly about the activities of voluntary organisations and their financial irregularities, the state social welfare minister had no clear answers for many of them.
The state opposition leader Mr. Rattan Lal Nath asked the minister that why the state did not take any action against any voluntary organisation even after there were complaints about the functioning of certain organisations. Senior political leader and a noted Scheduled Tribe leader Samacharan Tripura also questioned the role of some politicians in the running of voluntary organisations.
According to a social activist there is a powerful NGO mafia that is pocketing funds for developmental projects.
This mafia is so powerful that they even dictate terms to the bureaucracy. It is also true that some voluntary organisations are run by proxy by senior bureaucrats.
However, there was practically no whimper of protest over the government action by the voluntary organisations. Most of the voluntary organisations chose to remain silent on the issue.
But the Tripura Adivasi Samiti is the only organisation that has come out with a statement against the centre's move.
The director of the Samiti said: "The government's decision is not right. We were not given any intimation or time to represent our case. The allegation of financial misappropriation is baseless."
Agragani Samanj Kendra, (Abhay Nagar, Agartala), Assampada Nari Samiti, Ranir Bazar (Adaliya), Ganatantrik Nari Samiti (Bishram Ganj), Aamtali Upajati Ganatantrik Nari Samiti (Bishram Ganj), Agragani Mahila Samiti (Pratap Gad), Vajrapur Mahila Samiti (Bilonia), Birchandra Mahila Samiti (Bilonia), Bhatti Abhay Nagar Mahila Samiti, Chandrapur Mahila Samiti (Resham Bazar), Chaygadia Mahila Unnayan Samiti, Durgapur Mahila Samiti, Dharyatal Mahila Samiti (Khowai), Durantpada Ganatantrik Mahila Samiti (Jirania), Debanpada Mahila Unnayan Samiti(Devangad), Gobtali Nari Samiti, (Bilonia), and Gomati Project Ganatantrik Nari Samiti (South Tripura) are some of the voluntary organisations that have been blacklisted by the Board.
In the year 2003, union home ministry had blacklisted more than 800 voluntary organisations in the north-east for alleged links with separatist groups. The Centre had asked the respective state governments to keep these outfits under close watch.
Centre had always been concerned about the proliferation of voluntary organisations in the region. Most of the voluntary organisations had dubious origins and served as conduit for rebel funding both from foreign sources and government funds.
Meghalaya, a state of only around twenty five lakh people, has more than 8,000 voluntary organisations.
They received nearly 15 crore from the government last year out of the 50 crore rupees pumped into the state by Delhi. More than 300 of the blacklisted voluntary organisations are in Meghalaya.
The role of several human right groups including the Manab Adhikar Sangram Sam iti (MASS) in the North-East is under scrutiny, with the Ministry of Home Affairs identifying them as having close links with the underground outfits.
The names of organisations are MASS, North-East Coordination committee on Human Rights (NECCHR). United committee, Manipur (UCM), Naga peoples Movement for Human rights (NPMHR) and Naga Students Federation (NSF).
These voluntary organisations have not been reported to have engaged them selves openly in supporting or promoting terrorist activities.
These voluntary organisations maintain discreet links with the terrorist organisations. However, 13 organisations of the North Eastern States had been declared as Unlawful Association under the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act, 1967.

Need a cause correction

Prime Minister's statement about NGOs may be seen as a tactic to divert the public attention from burning issues. But NGOs should make their operations more transparent to regain public confidence.

S Remadevi/ Koodankulam/Kochi

The recent statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- that foreign-funded non-governmental organizations are behind the anti-nuclear protests in India -- has rattled the NGO sector. His comments attracted a barrage of criticism too. Immediately after the prime minister's comments, there were media reports about "crores spent on Tamil Nadu NGOs by foreign donors" to organize anti-nuclear protests in Koodamkulam, where a massive nuclear power plant is being built. Offices of a few NGOs were raided and scrutiny of their accounts was carried out with a vengeance by government agencies.
NGOs getting foreign funding is not a new phenomenon. Many NGOs are money-minting agencies.
Is the prime minister's statement just an expression of frustration within the government which has failed on governance? Or is he promoting conspiracy theories which has been the hallmark Congress regimes in the past?
It is simply not enough for the Prime Minister to throw up his hands and blame NGOs for his own government's inability to get things done. Singh's statement was rejected by anti-nuclear activists.
"By making these absurd allegations, he is diverting everybody's attention from the real issues here," said V. Pushparayan, an activist from the Coastal People's Federation.
However, this controversy had brought, once again, the functioning of the voluntary sector in the sharp focus. Although all the NGOs cannot be painted by the same brush, the fraud committed by some persons associated with the voluntary sector has given the critics the handle to beat the sector.
Recently, bosses of a Bangalore-based NGO were arrested for misusing international credit cards and stealing over Rs 15 crore under the pretext of running a charitable trust.
Meanwhile, a huge amount of money is being pumped into India by genuine philanthropist for the uplift of the poor. But many NGOs take advantage of the systemic weaknesses and divert the funds for other purposes. In such scenarios, the only way to stem the rot is regular monitoring and evaluation.
Monitoring and evaluation of projects is a standard practice followed in the international development for the periodic review of the projects and organizations supported, by agencies disbursing aid. M&E is necessary to confirm whether the strategy pursued for sustainable development has been successful or not or if it is on the right path. That is because the strategies have multiple objectives and activities, socio-economic and environmental conditions also change over a period of time.
Monitoring of the implementation of the strategy is done to ensure standard management oversight and accountability. Evaluation is necessary to correlate actions with specific changes in human and environmental conditions, to test the strategic hypothesis, ensure accountability, capture lessons and develop capacity through learning.
While this may appear as an important tool to measure what impact a project has made, in reality it is viewed with lot of skepticism by the receivers of aid or the body seeking support. And this is not without reason.
More often than not they feel that M&E is subservient to the preconceived judgment of the funding agency and therefore not objective. There are so many cases where the team that conducts M&E are paid heavily by the beneficiary group to say what the former wants to hear. As a result the real impact assessment of the project is never done. It is not possible to know whether the work done has made any difference to the lives of people, what that difference might be, if at all, who gains and who, perhaps, loses, whose impact is it and who decides, so on and so forth.
There are several tools, methods and approaches adopted to evaluate results of a developmental activity. These include performance indicators, formal surveys, theory based evaluation, rapid appraisal methods, participatory methods, cost benefit and cost-effectivene analysis and public expenditure tracking surveys, to name a few. Some of these tools and approaches are complimentary and others are substitutes. The choice which is appropriate for any given context will depend on a range of considerations. These include the uses for which M&E is intended, the main stakeholders who are interested in the findings of M&E, the speed with which the information is needed and the cost.
While M&E of developmental activities provide government officials, development managers and civil society groups a better means for learning from past experience, improving service delivery, planning and allocating resources, yet there is often confusion about what M& E entails. Not only that, it also fails in achieving the desired results.
While impact evaluation helps us to understand the extent to which activities have reached the poor, and the magnitude of their effect on people's welfare, the methodology used for assessing impact, causes difficulties in identifying an appropriate counter factual. Even the participatory method used for evaluation is not fool proof, although it establishes partnerships and local ownership of the projects. In the participatory method there is a danger of domination and misuse by some stakeholders.
M&E is often activity focused, involving too many rituals and symbolism, to show that the funding body and the beneficiary group believe in its importance. Lot of effort goes into the planning, especially the methodology. However, the evaluation result is mentioned at the end of the planning document and thus typically treated as a residual matter and not the centre of attention.
A few proposals for evaluation, or the design of monitoring systems, define how the impact of M&E activities will be identified. As a result it is unrealistic to expect noticeable effects and also changes in the procedures adopted by NGOs. There is another flip side to it. Most information generated for the donor agency is done with a bias towards the confirmation of people's expectations that everything is moving along the expected lines.
Also the traditional method of M&E by an external agency which produces the report at the end of the project mainly provides a snapshot of the quantitative information, ignoring the quality of project interventions or the steps taken to achieve the desired goal. As a result there is no lesson learned in terms of steps to be taken to ensure sustainability of the project and to assist in the design of future projects. Thus the future projects end up making the same mistakes.
Despite the negative comments about M&E, it is important to conduct monitoring and evaluation the impact for the donors as it helps them to supervise the disbursement of aid to determine if money is being spent by the recipient in the way it was agreed upon and to push for the adoption of new ideas and approaches. If done properly, it also helps the recipient or the NGOs to take midcourse correction and to make a case for enhanced support. Also evaluations do create a space and opportunity for staff to go beyond their routine tasks and think on broader issues and to take stock of their progress, as well as to update records and monitoring systems. Considering, transparency and accountability remain hard-to-achieve goal in many million development projects in India, there is a tight rope to be walked and caution has to be taken in order to achieve the desired results.

Can’t paint with the same brush

Sangita Jha/New Delhi

While many NGOs are minting money, genuine ones are struggling to stay afloat

Non-governmental oganisation Aadivasi Seva Sansthan based in Chitrakoot which started its work in the last decade has come a long way. It espoused many causes and spearheaded numerous movements. At times its activists succeeded inforcing successive governments to change policy and some times large projectscould not take off due to their stiff protest.
But there are many black sheep in the voluntary sector. "There are six lakh villages in India and there are 12 lakh NGOs. Not all of the NGOs work for the objectives for which they are formed. A large number of them work for vested interests, including for monetary gains," said Dhirendra Mishra who runs Agrocrats Society for Rural Development in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Mishra is of the opinion that the move to bring the NGOs under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal is the right step to nail fraudulent lot. However, Mishra also stresses that NGOs can not be run without adequate finances.
"Our NGO have members who are graduates from various agricultural universities. For these people it's a career for them to work for the advancement of the rural parts of the country by utilizing their training in agriculture. When you run an organization with a professional work force, naturally you will require strong financial backing," said Mishra.
Though NGOs have come under scanner for fuelling agitation against Koodamkulam nuclear power plant, their role in shaping policies of government cannot be underestimated. In fact, the Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had told during a round table discussion on role of research institutions in the ongoing Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) that the government would like to invest in them to help them in capacity building. Even member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) and former secretary to government of India NC Saxena had sought involvement of NGOs to ensure objective and impartial conduct of SECC. He has been of the view that the interference of political workers at the local level ensure that the needy are kept out of the below poverty line (BPL) list and non-deserving getting benefits.
"In today's time NGOs are everywhere. I can tell you that each of the MPs in the Parliament either take help of NGOs to connect with the people or patronize them for various purposes. You can not rule out NGOs. So, when the NGOs have mushroomed in such a big ways, it can also be not ruled out that a large number of them may be working for reasons other than their stated objectives," said Manoj Kumar Singh, who runs "Akhil Bhartiya Mahila Jagriti Sansthan" in Delhi.
Singh strongly seeks the government to catch the NGOs with dubious credentials and says that they should be shut down without any hesitation. However, Singh is also of the opinion that NGOs cannot function without adequate funds.
"We employ MBA graduates who prepare detailed project reports as mandated by the government agencies. We have to have adequate infrastructure, which includes computers. With projects flowing in along with financial gains, the NGOs too expand in manpower along with possibility of some of the people joining in the organization to make quick bucks than to serve the people," said Singh matter of factly.
However, the NGOs, who have also been called civil society, have much larger role to play in places when government agencies alone cannot deliver the benefits of its various schemes. In the Bundelkhand region, which had witnessed droughts years after year, people rely more on NGOs to deliver them the guidance in carrying out their activities. One of such NGOs, Aadivasi Seva Sansthan based in Chitrakoot, has been carrying out the work on watershed development for the past 16 years.
"We have annual budget in the range of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, which includes grants from the government and foreign agencies. We have clear objective that we have to be part of the solution of acute problem of irrigation in the Bundelkhand region. We have been building check dams, minor irrigation and watershed development," said RP Singh of Aadivasi Seva Sansthan.
However, there are NGOs who specialize in raising bills and vouchers against non-existent works to get money from the governments, with a number of them being fairly successful also, added Singh. He candidly admits that without funds it's tough to do any work now. "If we have budget with sufficient funding then only we can execute our works. When we fail to arrange for funds, we have to lay off people. Who can work for free now," said Singh.
Clearly, the NGOs have gone a metamorphosis, with most of them based out in urban centres having professionally educated manpower. As Manoj Kumar Singh says that gone are the days when NGOs used to be based out in rural areas where people used to eke out their livings by agricultural works and in spare time they used to engage in public service, the civil society has now become a profession, which cannot survive without a viable business model. Changed times demand changed regulations too and it appears that the lot of genuine NGOs do not mind coming under the scrutiny of the law of the land.

Money makes the NGO go round

Home Ministry report says voluntary organizations,
mostly based in South India, got more than Rs 10,000 crore from foreign donors.

Sopan Correspondent
Arecent report of the Union Home Ministry showed that more than Rs10,000 crore was pumped into India during 2009-2010, mostly from the USA and Europe to NGOs in India.
The report says that while it is not proper to make sweeping generalisations, it is necessary to note that the NGO sector in India is vulnerable to the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. "Therefore, necessary steps for rigorous enforcement as well as coordination with foreign countries for law enforcement will continue. Our efforts for coordination with State police organisations and other specialised organisations will also continue towards this direction," the report said.
The report revealed that major donors from abroad and receivers in India are Christian Missionaries and Church-sponsored NGOs.
The analysis of the Home Ministry's 42-page report shows that 14,233 NGOs received foreign contribution of Rs10,337.59 crore. The highest contribution came to Delhi (Rs1,815.91 crore) followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs1,663.31 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs1,324.87 crore). Interestingly, in district-wise analysis Chennai topped the list of foreign contribution with Rs 871.60 crore, followed by Bangalore (Rs703.43 crore) and Mumbai (Rs606.63 crore).
The biggest fund inflow to NGOs has come from the USA (Rs3,105.73 crore) followed by Germany (Rs1,046.30 crore) and the UK (Rs1,038.68 crore). These three countries have topped in the donors' list of Home Ministry for many years. Most the funding has been generated from Christian missionaries of these three nations. The donor missionaries have also formed their Indian subsidiaries.
The other toppers come from Italy (Rs 583.47 crore), the Netherlands (Rs509.46 crore), Spain (Rs 437.25 crore) Switzerland (Rs302.06 crore), Canada (Rs297.98 crore), France (Rs189.12 crore) and Australia (Rs148.28). The eleventh big donor to Indian NGOs is from UAE with Rs133.15 crore.
"The list of foreign donors is topped by the Gospel For Asia Inc of the USA (Rs 232.71 crore) followed by Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Barcelona, Spain (Rs 228.60 crore) and the World Vision Global Centre of the USA (Rs197.62 crore)," said the report of Home Ministry on foreign contribution and regulation for the period of year 2009-2010. These three are evangelical organisations. The fourth largest donor, Compassion International, is also from the US (Rs131.57 core) and belongs to the same category.
Interestingly the fifth biggest donor is India's HCL, which has made the contribution through its Mauritius subsidiary HCL Holdings Private Limited. HCL's entire donation of Rs 94.28 crore has gone to educational organisation in Chennai, knows as Sevasubramania Nadar Educational Charitable Trust, formed in the name of HCL owner Shiv Nadar's father.
"The highest amount of foreign contribution was received by the World Vision of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Rs 208.94 crore), followed by the Rural Development Trust, Ananthapur, AP (Rs 151.31 crore), and Shri Sevasubramania Nadar Educational Charitable Trust, Chennai (Rs. 94.28 crore).
"The highest amount of foreign contribution was received and utilised for establishment expenses (Rs 1,482.58 crore), followed by rural development (Rs 944.30 crore), welfare of children (Rs 742.42 crore), construction and maintenance of school/college (Rs 630.78 crore) and grant of stipend/scholarship/assistance in cash and kind to poor/deserving children (Rs 454.70 crore)," says the Home Ministry report on the fund utilisation by NGOs.
According to the report, during the year, 133 NGOs received foreign contribution in excess of Rs 10 crore, 179 associations between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore, 1,594 associations between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore, and 12,327 below Rs 1 crore. Out of 21,508 associations, 7275 have reported 'nil' receipt of foreign contribution.

Money or Mission: What Drives NGOs?

Recent statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on western-funded NGOs that are hell-bent on sabotaging India's nuclear power project has triggered a debate in the country. Close on the heels, the Union Home Ministry released a list of NGOs which received a whopping Rs 10,000 crore fund from foreign donors in 2009-2010. It is not a new development. For decades, NGOs have been benefiting from foreign funding. Those in the Home Ministry would tell you how NGOs are being used as conduits for money laundering. Many NGOs with dubious credentials were receiving huge amounts of donations from foreign agencies. But never before has the government showed any determination to control the flow of money. Then, why now? This raises the suspicion that the government is trying to stifle the voice of dissent through other means. NGOs have done commendable work in awakening the conscience of the country. Moreover, many NGOs, without any foreign help, are undertaking philanthropic activities. But there are thousands of black sheep among them. These money-minting organizations are giving a bad name to the voluntary sector. There is a trust deficit in some quarters. Government controls on the sector may be counter-productive. However, there is a need for a regulator at the national level to oversee the voluntary sector, accredit NGOs, make rules for the better of the sector.

Government proposes corporate houses’ dispose

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Will CSR go for a toss as the government dithers on making it mandatory for the industrial houses to set aside 2 per cent of earnings for social causes

Amitabh Shukla / New Delhi

The proposal of the government to corporate houses that they earmark at least two per cent of their earnings for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has few takers amongst the captains of industry in the country.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, who has himself earmarked a substantial chunk of his personal wealth for charity, has come out strongly against the idea of formulating laws on mandatory spending by industry on CSR.

“I don't think you generate CSR by putting statutory requirements. I think there is enough social consciousness among the larger companies to drive it on the basis of what they consider their responsibility,” he said at a joint press conference in the Capital with philanthropists Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

Premji was responding to a question on the government’s plan to make it mandatory for corporates to spend 2% of their average income of three years as part of the proposed Companies Bill. “My concern is that you get legislation...and a lot of abuse takes place from that legislation in terms of what you define as CSR and what you define as branding. I would be against it,” he added. The IT Czar, however, said that the government is welcome to issue such a proposal “as a guideline rather than as a mandate or rather than as legislation”.

Corporate houses have been opposing the proposed move to fix a threshold for CSR spending in the form of a mandatory legislation. Minister for Corporate Affairs Murli Deora had earlier said the government is willing to have a discussion on the matter with industry triggering comments by the industrial houses and prominent industrialists.

However, Buffett, who also addressed the press conference refused to comment on the issue. “I know nothing about this tax matter,” said Buffett, the multi-billionaire American philanthropist who is in the country to mobilize opinion and impress upon the industrialists to donate their earnings for charity.

Sources indicated that the government is unlikely to make it mandatory for the companies to spend on CSR. The new Companies Bill, which is on the Board for a while, is likely to make a mention asking companies to spend upto 2% of their net profits on CSR but may not make it legally binding. Interestingly, the Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, with which the Bill has been lying, wants CSR spending and philanthropic activity to be legally binding. The committee argued that companies which have a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or turnover of Rs 1,000 crore should set aside 2% of their average net profits for the last three financial years for CSR.

Several rounds of discussions have already been held with the corporate houses, industry associations and industrialists to find a way out. Industry bodies had earlier said that spending on CSR is critical but making it mandatory for firms may not result in best practices. They point out that several companies are already doing it and there was no need to bring in legislation for this purpose. Those against the legislation insist that making it a law would be tantamount to a new control and going back to the licence raj.

Ironically, the stand of the industrial houses comes at a time when the civil society groups have found that a large number of corporate houses do not spend anything on society from which they earn their mega millions. While some large houses indeed spend more than 2 percent on CSR, there are others who consider this spending an exercise in futility and want social entrepreneurship to create lasting wealth instead of earmarking an amount for specific work.

Even as the debate on CSR spending raged on American Warren Buffet who is traveling the world over to promote a culture of giving, arrived in India and asked the industrialists to come forward for charity.

The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, the two who who have routinely topped global rich lists for years, have been making efforts to encourage other billionaires to give to social causes.

Called “The Giving Pledge”, more than $125 billion from mostly American billionaires, have been pledged so far. Both Buffet and Gates themselves have pledged most of their own wealth to the Gates foundation. At a press conference later Thursday evening, the Gates and Buffett answered questions about the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and their mission to promote giving.

Buffett said he was enthused by the response he received from Indian entrepreneurs. “There was exceptional participation and candour. We certainly experienced great enthusiasm. What form it will take will be seen in days to come,” he added.

Those whom Buffett met in India included top industrialists from groups like the Tatas, Piramals, GMR, Godrej, Britannia Industries, Monnet Ispat and Energy, HSBC, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Max India, Dabur amongst others. Except the GMR, no group has so far come out openly on pledging their wealth for social causes.

“There was a tremendous give-and-take in the session. It is clear that there is some great thing going on about philanthropy,” Gates said. He spoke of the country's history of philanthropy and its tradition in the country.

Asked whether any of the 70 rich people had pledged their wealth for good reasons, Buffett, said the experience was enthusiastic but a follow-up remained to be seen. “The U.S. receives 2 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product from philanthropy and we hope it would increase in the coming years. India will also see an increase in the number of givers. The people in the room were enthusiastic,” he added.

“We heard many people having made a lot of money in India and willing to give it back to society but were still looking for a way to do so,” Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Foundation said.

Azim Premji, founder of Azim Premji Foundation, said he was completely committed to supporting the larger ambition of catalysing social change to build a better society. ashukla.mail@gmail.com

Jindal Prize for exceptional work instituted

The Sitaram Jindal Foundation would give five prizes annually for contribution to development in five streams

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

In what could be termed as the “Nobel Prize” for the NGOs and the civil society groups, the Sitaram Jindal Foundation has instituted the Jindal Prize for five streams which will be given annually from this year.

The first of its kind in the country, prize for each category will carry a cash award of Rs one crore, a memento and a citation. Moreover, if in the interest of promoting the cause further the circumstances so warrant the Foundation could review and increase the size or the number of Prizes, the Foundation announced last month in New Delhi.

The five streams chosen by the Foundation include Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation, Health including drugless healing, education with emphasis on moral upliftment, science, technology & environment and peace, social harmony and development. The streams have been chosen due to their impact in bringing about positive change in the society.

Emphasising the need for concerted efforts for human welfare, the Sitaram Jindal Foundation had been rendering service for improving the quality of life of the deprived and lower strata of the society for over 40 years now and as many as 110 villages had been adopted by the Foundation for integrated development in Karnataka state and a number of hospitals, colleges, schools and vocational institutions had been set up in and around Bangalore.

Addressing a news conference, S.R. Jindal of the Foundation said that the Prize scheme has been formulated after critical screening of various aspects so that there is no scope for favoritism. The awardees would be selected by the Jury, an independent body comprising of nine eminent persons having vast experience and specialization in their respective fields. He added that the decision of the Jury would be final and binding without recourse and it is endowed with authority to select the awardees, independent of any role or involvement of the Foundation or the Trustees.

An individual or organization having contributed towards welfare of Indian citizens would be eligible for nomination subject to the condition that the contribution should be of exceptional nature, the achievement be transparent and open to public scrutiny, the underlying activity carried out had no commercial purpose or profit or political motive and the nominee should not be an employee, family member or close relative of the Jindal Group or its sister concern and the Foundation, Secretariat or any other person(s) associated with the prize scheme. A foreign national who had contributed in India towards the welfare of Indian citizens would also be eligible for the nomination, he informed.

Jindal Foundation would invite nominations annually to be considered for award of the prize and only the work or contribution nominated in writing by a nominator would be eligible for consideration and self-nomination would not be taken as valid entry. Any person of repute can propose any one (individual or organization) except himself and a person would be entitled to make only one nomination in any given year. The whole process for selection of the nominees would be undertaken in a transparent manner and all nominations would remain confidential except in so far as they are discussed within the Jury, Screening Committee and the Secretariat.

He observed that the Scheme will find due support and cooperation and that the Jury, an independent highest body, will be able to secure confidence of the people by contributing the “Honour” on deserving persons for their outstanding contribution towards human welfare”.

Founded by Sitaram Jindal and his wife Jamnadevi Jindal way back in 1969, the slogan of the founder is the guiding force for the Foundation.

"I believe that industry is a self-generating economy. I wish industrialists could contribute their mite for the upliftment of the less fortunate by adopting 1 to 100 villages each as per their capacity besides doing other welfare activities instead of indulging in vulgar display of wealth and wasting it in cocktail parties vis-à-vis five star culture," the Founder had said, words which are still relevant and serve as a guiding principle for the industrial houses.
sopanstep@gmail.com

Red-tapism gripping NGOs

NGOs are considered to be an antidote to red-tapism and a paradigm for efficiency. Studies show the sector is slipping into bureaucratic labyrinthine.

Sankar Ray / Kolkata

NGOs are meant for de-bureaucratisation of public service. They are, ideally, an antidote to red-tapism.

Take, for instance, a programme, taken up by the Lutheran World Service India Trust (LWSIT), to reduce wastage of potable water near the slums of east Kolkata, which was in the interests of economically weaker sections affected by colossal wastage of potable water. Out of 110 roadside taps, LWSIT, found that 74 are without knobs, resulting in uncontrolled flow of water. The LWSIT installed brass taps with a locking system to prevent theft.

Similarly, Pradan, an NGO, appealed to every member of rural household to save a handful of rice every day and at the end of the month, it is sold in order to help the household open a bank account and rid themselves of moneylenders. Small wonder, Pradan got due recognition when its co-founder Deep Joshi got the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2009.

Nonetheless, several NGOs, especially international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), are centres of vested interests, are large and flush with foreign funds. In south Kolkata, an NGO, working mostly in the red light areas, is basically run by an elitist woman who takes away over Rs 25,000 a month but pays staffers anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500. On the contrary, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee too works among sex-workers, is foreign-funded but its work for uplift of the children of sex-workers, and protecting the sex-workers from the police-goon-political honcho nexus is praiseworthy.

Among the pungent critics of NGOs was CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, who in 1984, in an article had indicted the NGOs as “agents of imperialist designs” engaged in softening up poor peasants and workers and dimmed their revolutionary fervour and thus pushing them into the capitalist designs and unwittingly participating in exploitative activities.

The irony of history was that the CPI(M) and its mass fronts – as also its politbureau member Sitaram Yechury – were fully involved at the Mumbai session of the World Socialist Forum 2004, which was almost totally funded by INGOs, especially Ford Foundation. Small wonder, Karat lowered the pitch of his tone after all this.

Perhaps the most principled critic of NGOs in India is Mumbai-based Research Unit for Political Economy which never received funds – foreign or national. Its journal, Aspects of India’s Economy, prior to the WSF 2004, made a dressing-down of not only the NGOs but their indirect beneficiaries among trade unions. It said NGOs bureaucratise people's movements. Pointing out that NGO-led movements, while claiming to represent the people, are led by officers of the NGOs and are not accountable to the people, nor can they be removed by them; so they are also free to act without regard for people's opinions. “Minus foreign and government funding, the entire NGO sector in India would collapse in a day,” it inferred. There is some truth in it but this is not the whole truth.

Nevertheless, NGOs today are a part of life and some are genuinely committed. The NGOs or INGOs have to be accountable and transparent.

sankar.ray@gmail.com

NGOs : Crisis of credibility

COVER STORY

CAPART has not funded new projects for NGOs for over a year now. It will not do so till new norms for the voluntary sector is finalised

Amitabh Shukla / New Delhi

The institutions of democracy are facing a serious crisis of credibility and confidence. 2G scam, disruption of an entire session of Parliament, role of media in lobbying, insinuation against judges, appointment of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and the Radia tapes dominated the headlines in the recent weeks leaving none of the pillars of democracy sacrosanct.

Is the voluntary sector far off from the crisis? Isn’t the sector too facing serious crisis of credibility and challenge? Have the NGOs come out clean in the entire episode.

This does not seem to be so. A Chennai based NGO had to face the ignominy of CBI raids as its name cropped up in the 2G scam and was said to be the beneficiary of funds from the state government and lobbied for interest groups. The NGO is not alone. The nodal agency of the government, responsible for giving grants to the NGOs, CAPART blacklists hundreds of NGOs every year for fund embezzlement and irregularities.

The acts of transgression of the Chennai based NGO is quite common and is replicated elsewhere in the country as the malaise has been found to be deep and widespread. With a whopping 3.3 million registered NGOs, India's nonprofit sector raises up to $16 billion in funding every year. Foreign funding to Indian NGOs has only increased over the years. According to the figures of the Home Ministry, in 2008, the total official foreign aid to India was $2.15 billion.

It is actually the fight for these funds. Whoever presents a better picture, does a good social marketing and brings a sob value to their projects, gets a lion’s share, particularly from the international donors. Those for transparency say that a large amount of that money is misused, mostly to support high administrative costs of running organizations rather than on actual projects which are intended for the target beneficiaries. Transparency is an exception rather than a norm in a large number of NGOs and very few submit themselves for account audits and come clean on where and how the funds they receive as donations are spent.

While groups like Credibility Alliance, are working toward increasing NGO accountability through accreditation, field visit to scrutinize the records and membership, they have been able to rope in only a handful of NGOs so far. In the year 2009-10, 147 VOs applied for accreditation with Credibility Alliance. Out of these, 23 VOs were accredited under desirable norms and 10 were accredited under minimum norms. The total number of VOs accredited till October 2010 was a mere 115, suggesting that a large number of organisations do not want any scrutiny and would prefer to operate in an opaque, arbitrary manner as per the whims and fancy of the person who founded it and got it registered.

Not surprising as many as 833 NGOs were blacklisted by CAPART at the end of 2009 after they were found indulging in misappropriation of funds. Andhra Pradesh had the highest number of such blacklisted organisations followed by Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Of the 833 NGOs and voluntary organisations which were blacklisted, 192 were from Andhra Pradesh, 125 from Bihar, 83 from Tamil Nadu, 75 from Karnataka, 72 from Uttar Pradesh, 42 from Rajasthan and 35 from Kerala. In 2008, out of the 34,803 registered associations, only 18,796 filed their reports.

The malaise has reached such proportions that for many NGOs symbolize a ‘dirty word’ which is best avoided. They are seen as a tool of laundering money, embezzling donations and presenting a lofty-ideal picture to the outside world. No wonder the private trusts, corporate foundations, corporate social responsibility projects etc prefer to have their own set-up, own staff, their own model of projects, development and disburse funds through them rather than through the NGOs. For instance the Azim Premji Foundation, which got a whooping over Rs 8000 crore from its founder, has its own organization to conceive and execute the educational programmes.

“We are facing a severe crisis. Some NGOs have brought in a bad name for the voluntary sector. The image of those doing genuinely good work is also tarnished in the process,” said Abhay Pandey who runs Nav Srijan Sansthan in Bihar’s West Champaran district, a project to teach 20 children every year which he is doing in his individual capacity with the help of some well-wishers.

Wasn’t it time that all VOs and NGOs, which are registered under the Societies Registration Act undergo mandatory scrutiny of funds and subject themselves to something like the Right to Information. Making transparency mandatory is the need of the hour rather than hiding behind a cloud of secrecy.

A change in the institutional structure is taking place in the country, particularly in the developmental field where the move is to decentralize down to the lowest levels of panchayat. The panchayats at the village level are gradually becoming more important in all decision and policy making and development at the grassroots. They are deciding the developmental agenda and governments at the Centre and the states are also giving them control over financial resources to meet the objectives.

It is here that the NGOs have the big task of facilitation and also build capacities. The involvement of VOs in implementing development programs in partnership with the government has become key to this agenda. The involvement of local community, local activists, those who are well entrenched in the society is a must for any positive outcome. If funds for these grassroots organisations, those who understand the nerves of the local community dry up, hundreds of thousands of people living below poverty line will lose all hope.

Undoubtedly, there are hundreds of VOs, NGOs and individuals who have and continue to contribute effectively in the development process. They work with commitment, transparency, vision and a set goal. Why should they suffer from the deeds of the black sheep who are mushrooming all over. Wasn’t it time to separate the rice from the husk. Wasn’t it time to get our act together and bring in a system wherein regulation and control is transparent and effective.

The country may not need 3.3 million registered organisations. Even a few thousand would do. They needed to be weeded out on the basis of parameters set up in consultation with the voluntary sector itself, policy makers and government agencies. The stench has to be removed to make VOs and NGOs more vibrant and effective and restore the confidence of the common people and the donor agencies in them.
ashukla.mail@gmail.com

Building a movement for Development

Vikas Bharti, the NGO, has its roots in the backward and tribal dominated Bishunpur block of Gumla district...

Sopan Correspondent / Ranchi

Four people saw a dream of development in the late 1970s and early 80s and set out to realize it in the tribal and backward areas of what is now Jharkhand. The fruit of their labour is Vikas Bharti. What began as small exercise in tribal and rural development is now a force to reckon with the organization spreading its wings all over Jharkhand.

The non-government, non-religious, non-political, and non-faith based voluntary organization established on January 14, 1983 has its roots in the backward and tribal dominated Bishunpur block of Gumla district.

The dream which Ashok Bhagat, Mahesh Sharma, Rajnish Arora and Rakesh Popli saw has seen thousands of tribal families get better livelihood, better returns from agriculture, access to credit, vocational training, education, sports, culture and strengthening of the tribal system as prevalent in the area for the betterment of all in the last three decades.

Aiming to ensure the prosperity of the person standing at the lowest rung of the society, Vikas Bharti under the guidance of Ashok Bhagat has acted as a catalyst to accelerate the socially relevant and economically viable community-based development programmes and improve the livelihood of the rural people.

“We try to do what we can. Tribals identifying development with Vikas Bharti in the region is a big reward for us. We will continue in our endeavour,” Bhagat, who assumed a tribal surname from the Tana Bhagats to work in the area, says.

Bhagat says conservation of indigenous technology and promotion of use of local resources based on training of tribal youths, enhanced agricultural income, promoting credit linkages of tribal farmers with leading banks and financial institutions, empowerment of tribal women through their involvement in economic activities, bringing about 28000 tribal boys and girls into formal schools through specific courses based on accelerated learning has been some of the features of the movement so far.

The organization started with small interventions, mostly community mobilization activities in 24 villages linked with the weekly Bishunpur market. The focus was on the development of the various Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) residing in the hills of Bishunpur like the Birijiyas and, Asurs .

Bhagat realised quite early that the root cause of inaccessibility to services like education and health was poverty and limited livelihood opportunities and the team started thinking on how to promote livelihood improvisation strategy amongst the tribal communities. They realized that the major stakeholder who is associated with health, education and livelihoods are the women folks of the community. Therefore Vikas Bharti Started mobilizing the women in the villages around Bishunpur and started forming women’s Self Help Groups. These groups were linked to various financial and technical institutions which can take care of both investment and skill building of the women groups. Food processing unit was established for providing an assured market for these groups.

CAPART supported Vikas Bharti and made it the technical resource centre for the state. This was a huge leap for the organization as it got the opportunity for skill or technical training of a large number of youths in not only Gumla district but also the adjacent districts.

Now the organization has expanded its outreach to all the 24 districts of Jharkhand even as the development of tribal communities, especially the PTGs are its priority. During the early days the organization survived mostly on small government funding and donations. It was started in Bishunpur from a small hut and now has reached a stage where it is self sufficient in its resources and infrastructure.

The NGO also runs ashrams for tribal boys and girls who are either orphans or very poor and thus cannot afford a decent human living, runs formal schools for imparting quality education to poor and disadvantaged groups and impart life skill education to adolescent boys and girls so that they can stand in their own feet besides tracking drop-out students and continuation of their schooling.
Over a period of time, various village level institutions like mahila mandals, self help groups, kisan clubs, village health committees, village education committees, forest protection committees etc. have been formed. Advocacy of social issues and those concerning the tribals in the state in the entire country is the new mantra of Vikas Bharti.
sopanstep@gmail.com

अपने लिए जीए तो क्या जीए

अपने लिए जीए तो क्या जीए
समाज में जिस तरह की अवनति दे रही है, हो सकता है सीधा लोकोपकार उसका हल ना हो, लेकिन हम जैसे लोग जो एक आराम की जिन्दगी जी रहे है, की किसी की बुरी हालत के लिए वे जिम्मेवार नहीं है लेकिन क्या
उन्हें ऐसा नहीं सोचना चाहिए, कि वे किसी परिवार की खुशी , किसी समाज की सशिक्त का हिस्सा हो सके है'।
इसी साल 'इंडियन फिल्न्थ्रापी फोरम' के मंच से मुम्बई में अपने व्याख्यान के दौरान रोहिणी निकेनी ने यह बात कही तो पूरा हाल तकियों से गुंज उठा वास्तव में समाज का एक समृद्ध तबका चाहता है क़ि वह समाज के उस वर्ग के लिए कुछ करे जो जिन्दगी की तेज रफ्तार दौड़ में वेहद पीछे छुट गए भारती के सुनील भारती मित्तल जहाँ पंजाब, हरियाणा, राजस्थान, तमिलनाडू, और उत्तरप्रदेश के तीस हजार बच्चो को अंग्रेजी पढ़ा रहे है तो वही एचसीएल के शिव नाडार ने हाल में ही ५८० करोड़ रूपए शिक्षा के लिए दान दिया है यहाँ हमारे संवाददाता आशीष कुमार 'अंशु' ऐसे कुछ लोगो से आपका परिचय करा रहे है, जिनके पास समाज को देने के लिए पैसा नहीं था तो उन्होंने अपना जीवन समाज की सेवा में समर्पित कर दिया ।
मानवता के नाम एक अस्पताल
'किसी को खोने में कितना दर्द होता है, मै जानता हू मैंने अपना पति खोया है, इलाज के अभाव में। इसलिए मै चाहती हू कि इस देश में इलाज ना मिलने की वजह से किसी को अपना कोई खोना ना पड़े।
सुभाषिनी मिस्त्री के कहें हुए शब्द आज सच सच साबित हुए है आज इस बात को चालीस साल होने को जा रहा है, जब १९७१में३५ वार्षीय कृषि मजदुर साधन मिस्त्री को इलाज के अभाव में अपनी जान गंवानी पड़ी थी चूकी उनकी
पतनी सुभाषिनी मिस्त्री के पास इलाज के लिए पैसे नहीं थे इस बार जब कोलकाता में ठाकुर पुकुड़ से दो क़िलोमीटर की दुरी पर स्थित हंस पुकुड़ स्थित ह्यूमिनिटी अस्पताल में उनसे मुलाकात हुई तो वे पुराने दिनों को याद करके भावुक हो गई जैसे किसी ने एक बार फिर उस रंग हाथ रख दिया हो, जहा सबसे अधिक पीड़ा थी इस बातचीत में भाषा भी किसी प्रकार की समस्या नहीं बनी। बावजूद इसके की वे बंगला छोड़कर दुसरी कोई भाषा नहीं समझती लेकिन भाव की कोई भाषा नहीं होती सुभाषिनी मिस्त्री के अनुसार- 'अब मेरा सपना पूरा हो गया है इस अस्पताल से प्रतेक साल हजारो लोगो को निशुल्क इलाज मिलता है' उनसे बात करते हुए ही जाना क़ि वे मथुरा जाने की तैयारी कर रही है।
'अब कृषण शरण में ही मुक्ति मिलेगी' ।
सुभाषिनी मिस्त्री जिन्होंने स्कूल की शिक्षा नहीं ली लेकीन जीवन से उन्होंने बहुत कुछ सीख लिया पति की मृतु के बाद हंस पुकुड़ में अपना परिवार चलाने के लिए उन्होंने सब्जी की दुकान लगाई उन्होंने उस परिस्थिति में भी समाज के लिए एक अस्पताल का सपना देखा १९७१ में देखा हुआ सपना २१ सालो के बाद पूरा होता हुआ उस समय जन पड़ा जब १९९२ में उन्होंने अस्पताल के नाम पर एक बीघा जमीन खरीद ली १९९४ में इस अस्पाल की एक अस्थायी सी ब्यवस्था की गई यह अस्पताल मिस्त्री की ली हुई जमीन पर एक झोपड़ी डालकर प्रारम्भ हुआ आज के पास अपनी दो मंजिला ईमारत है और १०० लोगो के लिए बेद का इंतजाम है अस्पताल के पास अपना आपरेशन थियेटर है अब इस अस्पताल की चर्चा देश भर में है, लोग इसे जानने लगे है, इसलिए कुछ मददगार भी आगे आए अस्पताल का विस्वास अपने मरीजो को निशुल्क और अच्छा इलाज देने में है आज अस्पताल में प्रतिदिन ५० से ६० मरीज आते है रविवार के दिन यह संख्या १५० भी हो जाती है ऐसा नहीं है के इस अस्पताल में आसपास से मरीज आते है, कई बार बार ५०-१०० किलोमीटर की दुरी से भी मरीज एस गाव के अस्पताल में इलाज के लिए आये है।
सुभाषिनी याद करती है, जब पति उसे छोडकर गए थे उनकी उम्र मात्र २३ साल की थी चार बच्चे पीछे रह गये थे जो सबसे बड़ा था वह नौ साल का और सबसे छोटा तीन साल उस समय तक सुभाषिनी कोई काम नहीं करती थी पति की जब मौत हुई उस वक्त घर में कुल जमा नब्बे पैसे थे किस तरह भातेर पानी (माड़-चावल का पानी) के लिए उन्हें अपने पड़ोसियों के सामने हाथ पसारना पड़ता था कई बार उन्होंने अपने को घास उबल कर नमक पड़ता था कई बार उन्होंने बच्चो को घास उबाल कर नमक के साथ खिलाया है अपने बुरे दिनों में जब वे अपने अस्पताल का सपना किसी को बताती थी तो लोग उनपर हँसते थे आज सुभाषिनी मिस्त्री का वह सपना पूरा हो गया है वे खुस है।
श्रमिक का श्रमिको के लिए श्रमजीवी
नदिया जिले के छोटे से गाव नवदीप का रहने वाला रिक्शा चालक सन्यासी के पाव की हड्डी एक दुर्घटना में टूट गई घर में पैसे नही थे फिर सन्यासी को इलाज के लिए उसके कुछ साथी कोलकता हावड़ा स्थित श्रमजीवी अस्पताल में छोड़ गए इस विस्वास के साथ कि यहाँ सन्यासी के इलाज के आड़े पैसे की कमी नहीं आयेगी इस अस्पताल में न सिर्फ सन्यासी का इलाज हुआ बल्कि जब उसके पास अपने घर तक जाने के लिए पैसे नहीं थे। और घर से कोई लेने भी नहीं आया तो अस्पताल ने ही तक जाने का पैसा उसे कोई लेने भी नहीं आया तो अस्पताल ने ही घर जाने का पैसा उसे उपलब्ध कराया इतना ही नहीं, अस्पताल का एक साथी उसे घर तक छोड़ने भी गया क्या आप ऐसे किसी निजी अस्पताल की कल्पना कर सकते है, जंहा मरीज का स्वस्थ लौटना प्रबंधको की प्राथमिकता होती इलाज से पहले मरीज का जेब नहीं टटोला जाता इसलिए किसी मरीज को दाखिल करते समय कभी पैसा बीच में नहीं आता दुसरी बात, यहाँ इलाज कोलकाता के किसी भी निजी अस्पताल से कमतर नहीं है लेकिन पैसे दुसरे अस्पतालों की तुलना में कम लिए जाते है इस साल अस्पताल में ओंपीडी में तीस हजार से अधिक लोग आए डैलिसिस के लिए लगभग सतैसा सौ लोग आए, अस्पताल में लगभग आठ हजार लोगो को भर्ती किया गया श्रमजीवी अस्पताल से जुड़े फनिगोपाल कहते है, 'अस्पताल हमारे लिए पैसा बनाने की जगह नहीं है सेवा का माध्यम है इसलिए हमारे लिए साथ जो लोग काम करते है, उन्हें हम सजी स्थित फटे स्पष्ट क्र देते है' फनिगोपाल स्पष्ट शब्दों में कहते है अस्पताल से जुड़े साथियों को इतना पैसा ही मिलता है, जिससे वे अपना जीवन चला सके और मरीजो की सेवा कर सके खुशी की बात है कि इन शर्तो पर भी अस्पताल को नए-पुराने लोगो का भरपूर स्नेह मिल रहा है,।
इस अस्पताल की शुरुआत इंडो जापान स्टील फैक्ट्री में काम करने वाले मजदूरों के हाथो ८० के दशक के शुरुआती वर्षो में हुई यह वह समय था, जब मजदूर सगठन को मजदूर अपने जीवन की हर मुश्किल और बड़ी से बड़ी समस्या का हल मानते थे एक दिलचस्प बात और, उस दौर में इस अस्पताल का उदघाटन किसी भी बड़े राजनेता या सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता से करवाया जा सकता था लेकीन श्रमजीवी अस्पताल से जुड़े लोगो नए फैक्ट्री के अपने सबसे पुराने साथी मुरारी उपाध्याय से इस अस्पताल का उदघाटन करवाया उन दिनों उपाध्याय फैक्ट्री में बतौर गेट मैं कम करते थे इस अस्पताल में बाई पास सर्जरी जैसा आपरेशन अच्छे डाक्टरों के हातो मात्र बीस- पच्चीस हजार रुपए में आज भी सभव है आने वाले समय में इस अस्पताल के साथ एक मेडिकल कॉलेज से निकले डाक्टर भी अस्पताल की तरह देश में मिसाल बने
विदर्भ के किसानो को मिले साथी
यवतमाल में विजय कुमार पाटिल का नाम बहुत जाना पहचाना नही है मीडिया की सुर्खियों में भी वे नही है फिर आप सोच रहे होगे कि उनका जिक्र यहाँ क्यों आया ? बताते है, थोडा सब्र कीजिये विजय की उम्र होगी यही करीब तीस बत्तीस साल के आस पास तीन साल पहले टीस (टाटा इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ सोशल साइंस) की तरफ से ब्लाक प्लेसमेंट के लिए एक महीने के लिए विदर्भ आए और एक महीना गुजरने के बाद भी वापस नही गए विजय और उनके आठ साथी इस वक्त जो काम यवतमाल में कर रहे है, हो सकता है, वह कम आपको साधारण ही लगे लेकीन उनका यह काम तारीफ के काबिल जरुर है चूकी उनका यह कम सरकार से किसे प्रकार के फंड के लोभ में नही है ना ही उन्हें अपने कम के बदले सरकारी- गैर सरकारी पुरस्कार पाना है कोल्हापुर के रहने वाले विजय अपने दोस्त अल्वीन डिसूजा के साथ ही यवतमाल आए थे टीस की तरफ से दोनों नए साथ-साथ यहाँ रहने का फैसला किया प्लेसमेंट का समय बीत जाने के बाद भी चूकी खालिस समाज सेवा से घर तो नही चलता। ब्यक्ति की कुछ जरूरते होती है। शुरुआत के छह महीने विजय और आल्वीन दोनों के लिए मुश्किल भरे थे। बाद में आल्वीन मुंबई चले गए। इधर विजय के पास बचे हुए पैसे भी धीरे- धीरे खत्म हो रहे थे। इसी बीच टीस की तरफ से उन्हें फेलोशिप मिल गई और यवतमाल में उनका रहना आसन हो गया। फेलोशिप में मिलने वाले पैसे वैसे बहुत कम थे लेकिन विजय की जरूरते उसमे भी कम थी। उन्हें लगा इतने पैसे में कुछ और साथियों को वे अपने साथ जोड़ सकते है, जो किसानो के पक्ष में कुछ करना चाहते है। इस तरह अकेले ही चले विजय का काफिला बढ़ता गया, और लोग साथ आते गये जिससे कारवा बनता गया।
आज विजय के साथ पंकज महाले,रुपेश मारबते, अम्बादास कुशलकर, अर्चना दवारे, कीर्ती देशपान्डे, संगीता वसाले, शवेता ठकरे, जैसे साथी है। यह सभी साथी एक साथ किसी टेलेंट हंट से चुने हुए साथी नहीं है, यह सभी एक एक करके आए। आज भी इस टीम से जो वापस जाना चाहे या कोई इमानदारी से किसानो के हक के लिए लड़ना चाहे, इन दोनों के लिए विजय एंड कंपनी जिसका अर्थ होता है 'कास्तकार', के दरवाजे खुले हुए है।
कास्तकार किसी एनजीओ या ट्रस्ट का नाम नहीं है। यह सिर्फ एक मंच है, जिसका इस्तेमाल सिर्फ कास्तकार मंडल के सदस्यों अपने कम को सुबिधाजंक तरिको से आगे बढ़ाने के लिए किया है। चूकि इस मंडली के सदस्य ब्यक्ति पूजा की जगह कम की पूजा में यकीन रखते है।
कास्तकार के साथियों से परिचय के बाद, अब यह जानते है कि यह मंडली काम क्या करती है? 'कास्तकार' से जुड़े साथी किसानो के पक्ष में खड़े होते है, उनके हक के लिए लड़ते है और उन्हें जागरूक करने की कोशिश करते है। पहले शहर से दूर वाले गावो में रहने वाले किसानो को मंडी भाव पता नहीं होने के कारण बिचौलिए गलत भाव बताकर सस्ता सौदा ले आते थे और उसे स्थानीय मंडियों में उचे भाव पर बेचते थे। आज कास्तकार के साथी प्रतिदिन सुबह शाम लगभग हजार किसानो के मोबइल पर इन्टरनेट के माध्यम से अनाज से लेकर सब्जी तक के ताजे मंडी भाव भेजते है। इस तरह गाव के किसान बाजार भाव से परिचित हो जाते है। किसी दिन इन्टरनेट कनेक्शन में गडबडी की वजह से किसानो को यह अपडेट नही मिलता तो कास्तकार के साथियों के मोबाईल पर किसानो के फोन काल्स की झंडी लग जाती है। भेजते है। इस तरह गाव के किसान बाजार भाव से परिचित हो जाते है। किसी दिन इन्टरनेट कनेक्शन में गडबडी की वजह से किसानो को यह अपडेट नही मिलता तो कास्तकार के साथियों के मोबाईल पर किसानो के फोन काल्स की झंडी लग जाती है। किसानो के लिए हितकारी कोई योजना हो या सूचना, सरकारी स्तर पर आई हो या गैर सरकारी स्तर पर। कास्तकार के साथियों को मिलती है तो वे फौरन उस सूचना को पोस्टर बध करके उसकी दो-
कार किसी एनजीओ या ट्रस्ट का नाम नहीं है। यह सिर्फ एक मंच है, जिसका इस्तेमाल सिर्फ कास्तकार मंडल के सदस्यों ने अपने काम को सुबिधाजंक तरिको से आगे बढ़ाने के लिए किया है। चूकि इस मंडली के सदस्य ब्यक्ति पूजा की जगह काम की पूजा में यकीन रखते है।
कास्तकार के साथियों से परिचय के बाद, अब यह जानते है कि यह मंडली काम क्या करती है? 'कास्तकार' से जुड़े साथी किसानो के पक्ष में खड़े होते है, उनके हक के लिए लड़ते है और उन्हें जागरूक करने की कोशिश करते है। पहले शहर से दूर वाले गावो में रहने वाले किसानो को मंडी भाव पता नहीं होने के कारण बिचौलिए गलत भाव बताकर सस्ता सौदा ले आते थे और उसे स्थानीय मंडियों में उचे भाव पर बेचते थे। आज कास्तकार के साथी प्रतिदिन सुबह शाम लगभग हजार किसानो के मोबइल पर इन्टरनेट के माध्यम से अनाज से लेकर सब्जी तक के ताजे मंडी भाव भेजते है। इस तरह गाव के किसान बाजार भाव से परिचित हो जाते है। किसी दिन इन्टरनेट कनेक्शन में गडबडी की वजह से किसानो को यह अपडेट नही मिलता तो कास्तकार के साथियों के मोबाईल पर किसानो के फोन काल्स की झंडी लग जाती है। भेजते है। इस तरह गाव के किसान बाजार भाव से परिचित हो जाते है। किसी दिन इन्टरनेट कनेक्शन में गडबडी की वजह से किसानो को यह अपडेट नही मिलता तो कास्तकार के साथियों के मोबाईल पर किसानो के फोन काल्स की झंडी लग जाती है। किसानो के लिए हितकारी कोई योजना हो या सूचना, सरकारी स्तर पर आई हो या गैर सरकारी स्तर पर। कास्तकार के साथियों को मिलती है तो वे फौरन उस सूचना को पोस्टर बध करके उसकी दो-ढाई सौ कापी कराके गाव-गाव में जाकर चिपका आते है। कई बार बात दो ढाई सौ पोस्टर से नहीं बनती नजर आती तो वे हजार दो हजार पर्चे छपवा लेते है । समय-समय पर अलग-अलग गाव के किसानो के साथ अलग-अलग विषयों पर गोष्ठी करते है। जिससे कोशिश यही होती है की उस विषय से सम्बन्धित सभी समस्याओं का निदान उस गोष्ठी में ही हो जाए। यदि किसी सवाल में किसी प्रकार का संशय शेष रह जाता है तो कास्तकार के साथी उस विषय के विशेषग्य से मिलकर उस सवाल का निराकरण करते है। यह सच है की कास्तकार कुछ जुनूनी साथियों का एक छोटा प्रयास है लेकिन इस तरह के छोटे छोटे प्रयास जिले में किसी मुहीम की तरह शुरू हो जाय तो किसानो की आत्महत्याओं पर राजनीति नही होगी बल्कि लगाम लगेगी ।

Premji shows the way, will others follow?

Philanthropy by captains of industry is picking up but a lot remains to be done for the downtrodden

Amitabh Shukla / New Delhi

Corporate philanthropy in India has taken a giant leap with the decision of Wipro chief Azim Premji to donate a whopping Rs 8,846 crore for charity. Never before in the country has any industrial house or an industrialist shown such a gesture of profound magnitude for the have nots of the society.

What makes Premji's gesture all the more important is that the donation has been made from personal wealth and not as part of the much-hyped corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the industrial houses. He could have used the money to buy a cricket team or a private jet but he did not.

Moreover, there is a clear vision and direction on what is to be done with the funds to the tune of Rs 8846 crore unlike many examples in which the industrialists merely donate for a specific work like calamity relief, get a photo shoot done for publicity and then forget their responsibility towards the more unfortunate brethren of their country.

Even though India has a tradition of charity - all religions preach this, big time corporate charity is picking up only now. For most personal aggrandizement, stashing money in foreign banks, living a luxurious lifestyle, building a magnificent house, acquiring jets, yachts and limited edition automobiles is the order of the day. Though wealthy people in the past - the Sheths, some industrialists – had been contributing to religious institutions, very few had a vision of what needs to be done with the funds beyond the short term and how to create a lasting impact on society.

If a hungry person is given fish to eat, it will solve a temporary problem of hunger. But if you teach him how to fish, it will be a permanent solution to the woes, goes the saying. Teach him and empower him. This is what Premji has done.

Premji in his statement said, "We believe that good education is crucial to building a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society. We want to contribute significantly towards improvement of education in India, and through that towards building a better society." The philanthropist said, "All our efforts, including the University that we are setting up, are focused on the underprivileged and disadvantaged sections of our society. Our experience of the past 10 years has motivated us to significantly scale up our initiatives, across multiple relevant dimensions." The IT czar said that the Foundation's significant increase in scale and its clear focus on social purposes will require a substantial long term financial commitment, which is the purpose this endowment will serve."

Premji's initiative was followed by Ajay Piramal's Piramal Healthcare which announced spending of up to Rs 200 crore in charity, primarily on healthcare and education. The money will be given to different organisations in phases to optimize the benefits. The company also clarified that such contributions will not directly relate to the business of the company or the welfare of its employees and forms a part of its CSR.

Interestingly, it is the Indian IT industry, their founders, leaders, IT entrepreneurs and spouses, most of whom who have made their fortunes themselves instead of inheriting it, who are spearheading corporate philanthropy in India in true sense of the term. The traditional captains of industry still lag behind in the initiative.

Not surprising, IT majors Infosys, MindTree, TCS and HCL have been launching and supporting ventures that create social equity, better lives for the have nots and creation of opportunities for the downtrodden for whom there is nothing to look forward to except government support and to God. The top professionals and entrepreneurs in the IT sector have already set aside chunks of their wealth for charity, most of which are already functioning and changing lives at the grassroots.

While Infosys cofounder Naryana Murthy's family recently gave $5.2 million to Harvard University and its press for a series on Indian literary heritage, Tata Group also gave $50 million to Harvard Business School.

Murthy and his wife Sudha Murthy are also understood to have set up a venture capital fund to give credit to the poor. Sudha also leads the Infosys Foundation that works in villages in education, healthcare and other projects.

Coming back to Infosys, CEO and President Kris Gopalakrishnan donates around Rs 4 crore a year. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, now with the government on the National Identification Number project and wife Rohini have gifted $5 million for the Yale India Initiative.

Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL, too has not lagged behind and pledged a tenth of his $4 billion wealth for charity.Sunil Mittal, the telecom czar, is not behind as Bharti Foundation primarily runs on his donations and is doing an excellent work in education in several parts of the country and bridging the gap between government effort and the needs of the community.

The Tatas and the Birlas, the traditional industrialists, are in philanthropy in a big way, often without any publicity, doing it silently and effectively. The Tata Sons, holding company of the group, uses the money earned on charity. Likewise, the Birlas run hundreds of institutions catering to education, medical help, grants to religious institutions amongst others. The Godrej family too has contributed in its own way from the beginning and so have the Sarabhais from Ahmedabad.

But is it enough? Indian billionaires can do much more for charity than they are doing. Thousands of cooperatives, NGOs at the grassroots and institutions doing brilliant work are perpetually starved for funds. Their impact could have multiplied many fold had they got the funds which they deserved due to the sheer volume of work they undertake. The outreach and impact of these organisations would only grow and create the desired social impact at the grassroots if they get more funds.

Reports had it that by western standards Indian charity amounts to peanuts and a lot needs to be done by industrialists here. A recent report suggested that in India individual and corporate donations make up only a tenth of charitable giving. While 65 per cent comes from the government through various schemes to the NGOs, the remaining comes from abroad.

Clearly, government, both at the centre and the states, remains one of the biggest donors to the projects in the voluntary sector. It has perhaps realized that the NGOs, cooperatives, civil groups and communities have played a major role in rural development, through catalysing people's initiatives for change, as well as through direct implementation of interventions around specific issues and therefore addressing the needs accordingly.

Formal recognition of the role ofvoluntary organizations came in the Seventh Plan document. This led to the formation of the Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) in 1986, as a nodal agency for catalysing and coordinating the emerging partnership between voluntary organizations and the Government for sustainable development of rural areas.

An autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, CAPART is functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
Even though there have been charges of irregularities and corruption, today, this agency is a major promoter of development activities in India with focus on grass-root. It assists over 12,000 voluntary organizations across the country in implementing a wide range of development initiatives.

The country is presently going through a change in its institutional structure in the developmental field where the move is to decentralize down to the lowest levels of panchayat. The panchayats at the village level are gradually becoming more important in all decision making and development at the grassroots. They are deciding the developmental agenda and governments at the Centre and the states are also giving them control over financial resources to meet the objectives.

It is here that the NGOs have the big task of facilitation and also build capacities within the panchayat institutions to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in a better and
inclusive manner.

The involvement of voluntary organisations in implementing development programs in partnership with the government has become key to this agenda. Such a role for the panchayats in the government scheme of things of decentralization will only likely to increase in the future due to its sheer impact.

But government contribution is not enough and the corporate houses need to chip in a big way to have a social transformation by involvement of the panchayats and the voluntary
organisations working at the lowest pyramid of society. There is still an amount of indifference to this crucial issue as several e-mails sent by Sopan-Step to some prominent industrial houses on their social contribution and endowment for charity evoked little response. Most of them remained unanswered.

Not surprising that fund-raisers for social causes continue to complain about their problems and how the industrialists and the industrial houses keep rejecting their proposal on one pretext or the other. These fund raisers say that a lot of effort and paper work is required here in the country even to raise a small fund for social causes.

Moreover, the corporate funding agencies look for short term deliverables which cannot be the exact measurement of the success of a scheme run by an NGO or a cooperative.

The huge middle class too is largely tight-fisted despite the prosperity brought by economic boom and is hardly known to contribute towards any non-religious charity. The bar has to be raised.

However, after the global efforts of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, urging the captains of industry to donate at least half their wealth to charity (see box) and the largest endowment in Indian history made by Azim Premji, the debate has been stirred in a way which had never been done in the past. The arrow has hit the target- the Bull’s eye. It has raised the consciousness on the issue and underlined the point that industrialists do have a role on solving the ills plaguing the society, the same society from where they have made their fortunes. They are gradually realizing the importance of leaving a lasting contribution and a legacy to the society.

But, the Corporate Social Responsibility of the organizations has to be seen with a pinch of a salt. For many it is simply propaganda and public relations exercise with a watchful eye on the stock market. If these industrial houses are seen to be doing something for the society through CSR, they believe that it would increase the acceptability of their products. Many simply consider it as an excellent brand promotion and marketing strategy thinking that such acts would also raise the value of their stocks.

Corporate houses and the captains of industry have to see development from the prism of creating empowerment, long term capacity building, and creating awareness in the larger
community - all of which take time, effort and gradual realization. The short term mechanism of calamity relief - flagging trucks carrying relief material, though necessary, is not the solution to the larger issues plaguing the society.

The involvement of local community, local activists, those who are well entrenched in the society is a must for any positive outcome. The flow of CSR funds has to be through these organisations and cooperatives at the grassroots and individuals to have any meaningful and lasting impact and not necessarily through the corporate foundations which by and large function for short term results rather than the long but fruitful and lasting long term route.

In March, 2010, the Indian dollar billionaires numbered 69, compared to 52 last year, second only to USA, which has 403. The recent economic fortunes of India have brought untold wealth to some individuals. According to Forbes, the combined net worth of India’s 100 richest people rose to $300 billion this year from $276 billion last year, driven by the country’s booming economy and a rally in the stock market.

The Indian economy is galloping towards the double digit figures of economic growth. Rate of growth at 8 to 9 per cent has become the order of the day in the country in the era of booming economy and rising stock prices.

While several business leaders are gradually waking up to the importance of philanthropy, time has come to build a greater momentum in order to make terms like hunger, illiteracy, malnutrition, ignorance redundant words in this century.

ashukla.mail@gmail.com