The Union government has told the Delhi High Court that non-governmental organisation Oxfam India was found to be involved in “a negative and malicious campaign against the Assam tea industry” and was a “probable instrument of foreign policy”, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.
In its submissions to the court, the Union home ministry alleged that inquiries by central agencies and the Central Board of Direct Taxes found that the NGO was violating provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
FCRA registration is mandatory for any non-profit organisation in India to receive funds from abroad.
Oxfam was purportedly indulging in “activities detrimental to the national economic interest” by entering into an “agreement with another association and funded it to mobilise communities against the coal industry with help of local unions”.
Oxfam India was among 5,932 non-governmental organisations whose registrations under the FCRA had ceased on January 1, 2022, either because they did not apply for renewal or the home ministry refused to sanction their applications for renewal. Oxfam India is in the latter category.
Oxfam India moved the High Court against the Centre not deciding on its renewal application. The Union government was instructed in November 2022 to decide on its petition within six weeks.
In December 2022, the home ministry rejected the application and denied the renewal of Oxfam India’s FCRA registration.
In February, the ministry told the High Court that it was willing to consider Oxfam India’s application for a fresh FCRA registration without prejudice, The Indian Express reported.
On Friday, the High Court was told by the Union government’s counsel that this application was under consideration by the ministry.
Allegations against the NGO
However, in its submissions to the court on Thursday, the ministry alleged that Oxfam India “was found to be corresponding with foreign governments and multilateral organisations in order to put pressure on the Government of India”.
Oxfam India denied the charge in its submissions on May 12 and said that foreign contribution donors had paid government money for specific purposes.
“…when they sought for the update regarding the status of contribution made by them, [Oxfam India] merely informed their diplomatic mission in India on their request, which was a necessary exercise,” the newspaper quoted the NGO as saying.
The home ministry also said that Oxfam India was allegedly found to be involved in a “negative and malicious campaign” against the tea industry in Assam.
Oxfam India had run a campaign in 2019 to increase the wages of tea garden workers based on a report published by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai from October that year, The Indian Express reported.
The ministry added that the NGO projected “opinionated statements in the media” against the industry.
This caused “harm to the interests of the Indian tea industry generally”, the ministry said, adding that this was done “likely to unwarrantedly stir up agitation against the state government”.
Replying to the allegation, the NGO noted that this campaign had led to the wages of the tea garden workers being increased in 2022.
In its submissions, the ministry also told the High Court that Oxfam India entered into an agreement with another association and funded it to mobilise communities against the coal industry with the help of local unions.
This was despite the NGO being registered only for social programmes, it added, according to The Indian Express.
“Such activities are not compatible with its stated FCRA objectives and are detrimental to the nation’s economic interest,” the ministry said.
However, the NGO said that although the organisation, Environics Trust, had requested funding, “no such fund was provided”, according to the newspaper.
Oxfam India further noted that the Union government in its December 2022 order had introduced “for the first time allegations relating to UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] funding, the Assam tea campaign, receipt of funds in utilisation accounts, transfer of funds to other entities, administrative expenditure beyond 20%, and speculative use of FC [foreign contribution]”.
Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
Also read: FCRA licence crackdown has plunged India’s non-profit sector into a crisis
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