NEW DELHI -- In yet another crackdown on NGOs, the government on Thursday cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA) for its activities which allegedly hampered country's economic
growth.
The Greenpeace India's registration has been cancelled under Section 13 of the FCRA, a senior Home Ministry official said. The decision would mean that the NGO will not be able to receive from abroad the funds, which are up to 30 per cent of its overall cost of operations.
The Home Ministry is likely to inform the Delhi High Court about its decision on Friday when a case related to curbs on Greenpeace India comes up.
Greenpeace India has about 340 people working with it.
Greenpeace India termed the government action as an attempt to "silence campaigns" and said it will not be deterred.
Vinuta Gopal, interim co-Executive Director of Greenpeace India, said Greenpeace India will continue its campaigning undeterred and is in fact launching a "new creative campaign" to highlight crackdown on civil liberties.
"The cancelling of our FCRA registration is the government's latest move in a relentless onslaught against the community's right to dissent. It is yet another attempt to silence campaigns for a more sustainable future and transparency in public processes, Gopal said.
"Cutting access to our foreign funding may be a desperate attempt to get us to cease our work but the MHA probably didn't count on our having an amazing network of volunteers and supporters who have helped us continue our work despite the government crackdown.
"Since the majority of our funding comes from Indian citizens, most of our work can indeed continue," the Greenpeace official said.
Contact HuffPost India