Non Governmental Organizations - Part 2

 NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS - PART 2

 

Building Community Participation:
•    The non-profit organisations offer alternative perspectives; and most importantly, the capacity to conduct a meaningful dialogue with communities, particularly those that are disadvantaged.
•    They foster pluralism, diversity and freedom. Many NGOs work to preserve and promote India’s diverse culture. For example SPIC MACAY is a society for promoting Indian classical music and culture amongst youth.

Activities undertaken by NGOs:
•    Advocacy, Analysis and Awareness Raising – acting as a voice for people both on a representative and self-appointed basis; researching, analyzing and informing the public about issues; mobilizing citizen action through media campaigns and other forms of activism; and lobbying business leaders and policymakers.
•    Brokerage – acting as an intermediary between different sectors and groups.
•    Conflict resolution – acting as a mediator and facilitator.
•    Capacity Building – providing education, training and information.
•  Delivery of services – operational delivery of essential humanitarian, development and/or social services.
•   Evaluation and Monitoring – serving as a ‘watchdog’ or third party / independent ‘auditor’, invited and uninvited, of government and corporate performance, accountability and transparency.

Issues with NGOs:
•    Accreditation remains a big challenge as it is very difficult to distinguish whether an organization wants to work for the cause or has been set up only for the purpose of receiving government grants.
•    Over dependence on funds from the government dilutes the willingness of NGOs to speak out against the government.
•    NGOs have acted as a cover for organized crime in past and are often seen as fronts for fundamentalist causes. Foreign funded NGOs have been responsible for organising agitations and scuttling development projects in India.
•    NGOs are often seen as encroaching on centuries-old tradition and culture of the people, and lead to mass protest at times. Ban of Jallikattu, after the PIL by PETA is one such example.

Way Forward:
•    A National Accreditation Council consisting of academicians, activist, retired bureaucrats should be made to ensure compliance by NGOs.
•    There should be better coordination between Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance in terms of monitoring and regulating illicit and unaccounted funds.
•    A regulatory mechanism to keep a watch on the financial activities of NGOs and voluntary organizations is the need of the hour.
•    Citizens today are keen to play an active role in processes that shape their lives and it is important that their participation in democracy go beyond the ritual of voting and should include promotion of social justice, gender equity, inclusion etc.

Interaction and relationship between the Indian state and NGOs:

In India the state policies have significantly influenced the formation of NGOs and their activities. The government sponsored and aided programmes provided financial assistance to NGOs either as grants or as matching grants to support the implementation of social development projects. The need for the involvement of voluntary organizations has been acknowledged by a number of official committees dealing with development.

1.    Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, 1957: Today in the implementation of the various schemes of community development, more and more emphasis is laid on NGOs and workers and on the principle that ultimately people’s own local organisations should take over the entire work.
 

2.    Rural-Urban Relationship Committee, 1966: Local voluntary organisations can be very helpful in mobilizing popular support and assistance of the people in the activities of local body. It is possible to maintain constant and close contact with the people through these organizations.
 

3.    Ashok Mehta Committee: Of the several voluntary organisations engaged in rural welfare, a few have helped the PRIs in preparation of area development plans, conduct feasibility studies and cost/benefit analysis, explore ways and means to induce local participation in planning and implementation.
 

4.    In the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985), the government identified new areas in which NGOs as new actors could participate in development.
 

5.    The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985- 1990), envisioned a more active role for NGOs as primary actors in the efforts towards self-reliant communities. This was in tune with the participatory and empowerment ideologies, which was gaining currency in the developmental discourse at that time.
 

6.    Government support and encouragement for NGOs continued in the Eighth Five- year plan, where a nation-wide network of NGOs was sought to be created.
 

7.    The Ninth Five-year plan proposed that NGOs should play a role in development on the public-private partnership model. Also, the agricultural development policies of the government and its implementation mechanisms provided scope and space for NGOs. A case in point is the watershed development program, which has led to the growth of NGOs working for rural development.
 

8.    In March 2000, the Government declared Planning Commission as the nodal agency for GO-NGO interface. The message was clear- government has to and will work with the voluntary sector. A ‘Civil Society Window’ was started in 2004, in the hope that it would enable people to engage with the Planning Commission and offer the benefit of their field experiences.
 

9.    During the 11th Five Year Plan process a regional consultation was organised to get civil society feedback. Participation of Civil Society (CS) had thus already become a strong and robust element in the preparation of the Plan Consultations with citizens on the Approach Paper to the 12th Plan began on many platforms, including the internet.