The Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies alleges discrepancy in NGO’s accounts.
By Sreekanth A Nair
The Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies has cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India, an NGO which has been campaigning to protect India’s forests, for clean air and water, and to prevent the dangerous impact of climate change.
On Friday, Greenpeace India informed that they had received notice from the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies, summarily announcing the cancellation of its registration as a society.
The NGO is a society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975.
Greenpeace India society has violated certain provisions of Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975, the notice said.
The notice states that “This society has received crores of rupees from foreign countries. There is discrepancy in the account between the details of the foreign donation furnished by the Society in the form FCΙΙΙ/ FC VΙ to the Government of India and that of the details furnished in the annual report submitted to the Registrar of Societies under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, which suggest fraudulent dealings.â€
On the basis of an inspection conducted earlier the Registrar had issued a show cause notice to the Society on June 16, 2015.
Reacting to the latest development, Vinuta Gopal, Interim Executive Director, Greenpeace India, said, “The RoS (Registrar of Societies) is clearly acting under directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi, which has been trying to shut Greenpeace India down for over a year now. The MHA’s clumsy tactics to suppress free speech and dissenting voices are turning into a major national and international embarrassment for this government. This is an extension of the deep intolerance for differing viewpoints that sections of this government seem to harbor.â€
Gopal also alleged that “The Registrar has passed this order without granting Greenpeace a hearing, and without complying with the Madras High Court order to address each of our points and queries. This is a blatant attempt to circumvent the legal process and shows no respect for the law.â€
There are reports that the NGO will challenge the order in the Madras High Court very soon.
In September, the Government of India had cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA), which prevented it from receiving foreign donations.