We had the following queries
1. If our work is largely about advocacy , including legislative advocacy and PILS, is it advisable to take FC money
2. A staff paid by a project that is foreign aided can conduct research and file PIL using Indian money??
3. An organisation having FC and Indian money can file a PIL using Indian money without it adversely impacting FCRA registration??
thanks
Nupur
—
Centre for Social Justice
Website: www.centreforsocialjustice.net
Nupur,
Answer to your question can be divided into two broad parts.
Based on scenario at present (or should I say past), any organisation with its clear objectives could take PILs / Advocacy and other such activities without any problem. In fact I know at least 2-3 organisations who have been doing exactly such work for years. I would like to add a caveat here, is that in case your work involves a legislative assembly, FCRA Dept has not been allowing FCRA registration under the garb that they fall in the prohibited activities. Not sure how, but that has been there call so far.
Second broad category is what about future (I suspect your question also arises from current negative environment against FCRA funding). In the draft rules that FCRA Dept shared with public, it came out with a new form of FC6, which had separate category under ‘Civil Rights Advocacy’ which had 21 specified activities, such as Human Rights, Child Rights, Caste Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Internet freedom, criminal justice system, democratic rights and several others. What baffles me even child rights has been covered in this list. It appears that while in future Govt would allow such activities, but then why ask such NGOs to be put in different category. In J&K and many of the North Eastern states, we know NGOs are required to report their expenditures on quarterly basis to the local IB Dept. Perhaps this could be one reason for creating such category of organisations, on which Govt wishes to keep a close watch over all such NGOs undertaking such activities. However these are draft rules, and the Govt is yet to come with final rules.
answer is yes, if you have FCRA registration with the object of “Legal” mentioned in your certificate.
Answer to 1,2 and 3 is YES. Rules permit. Persons in power may react depending on the issue. If the advocacy work is against a development project taken up by either State or Central Government, Government’s negative reaction is possible.
Udayashankar