Whistleblower NGO at receiving end of police
Nitin SethiNitin Sethi | Jul 4, 2011, 10.33am IST
NEW DELHI: A non-governmental agency, IGSSS, has claimed the city government shut its homeless centres because it had pointed out apparently serious security loopholes in the way the UID enrolment of the homeless was being carried out.
The NGO said one of its employees had been hauled up by the police for the death of a homeless person because the survey slip with his name had been found in the deceased's pocket.
The NGO said it had raised these concerns with Mission Convergence, its appointed 'mother NGO' . But instead of addressing the issue, the Delhi government decided to shunt IGSSS out of the operation of running homeless centres.
IGSSS officials said they had also pointed out that the government was piggybacking the conditional cash transfer scheme through the UID without informing the NGOs involved in running the centres . The NGO said it had sought other details of the funded programme but the government was not forthcoming. The NGO said in due course, even the bank accounts opened in the names of the homeless would have the organization's address.
It had asked the government what would happen in such cases. What were the introducer's and the organization's liabilities ? The Delhi government and its appointed NGO had written back saying the rules had been altered and that the NGO workers would not have to introduce the homeless in UID applications. The 'mother NGO' would take the responsibility. But, claims IGSSS, the government didn't keep its word.
When TOI queried the Delhi government , its officer, Shyami Sodhi (director Mission Convergence) said, "Reservations about UID is irrelevant. It is a mandate of the government, not a choice. How we do it is up to us as the registrar for the state. NGOs such as IGSSS are bound by our instructions passed through the MNGO." She said the question of faking identity didn't arise because the homeless had been surveyed by the MNGO. But when asked how the MNGO had verified the homeless individuals, she said, "We work on trust, we have gone by what the MNGO said."
She admitted that in cases related to the homeless, there was no foolproof way of authenticating identities before UID cards are handed out. But Sodhi said, "IGSSS was on board from the beginning and then they suddenly decided to question the UID process. This is not proper."
IGSSS defended itself claiming it got apprehensive about the process when it began enrolment and kept trying to talk to officials and the nodal NGO. Instead to resolving the issue, IGSSS was asked to shut shop, the NGO officials said.
Nitin SethiNitin Sethi | Jul 4, 2011, 10.33am IST
NEW DELHI: A non-governmental agency, IGSSS, has claimed the city government shut its homeless centres because it had pointed out apparently serious security loopholes in the way the UID enrolment of the homeless was being carried out.
The NGO said one of its employees had been hauled up by the police for the death of a homeless person because the survey slip with his name had been found in the deceased's pocket.
The NGO said it had raised these concerns with Mission Convergence, its appointed 'mother NGO' . But instead of addressing the issue, the Delhi government decided to shunt IGSSS out of the operation of running homeless centres.
IGSSS officials said they had also pointed out that the government was piggybacking the conditional cash transfer scheme through the UID without informing the NGOs involved in running the centres . The NGO said it had sought other details of the funded programme but the government was not forthcoming. The NGO said in due course, even the bank accounts opened in the names of the homeless would have the organization's address.
It had asked the government what would happen in such cases. What were the introducer's and the organization's liabilities ? The Delhi government and its appointed NGO had written back saying the rules had been altered and that the NGO workers would not have to introduce the homeless in UID applications. The 'mother NGO' would take the responsibility. But, claims IGSSS, the government didn't keep its word.
When TOI queried the Delhi government , its officer, Shyami Sodhi (director Mission Convergence) said, "Reservations about UID is irrelevant. It is a mandate of the government, not a choice. How we do it is up to us as the registrar for the state. NGOs such as IGSSS are bound by our instructions passed through the MNGO." She said the question of faking identity didn't arise because the homeless had been surveyed by the MNGO. But when asked how the MNGO had verified the homeless individuals, she said, "We work on trust, we have gone by what the MNGO said."
She admitted that in cases related to the homeless, there was no foolproof way of authenticating identities before UID cards are handed out. But Sodhi said, "IGSSS was on board from the beginning and then they suddenly decided to question the UID process. This is not proper."
IGSSS defended itself claiming it got apprehensive about the process when it began enrolment and kept trying to talk to officials and the nodal NGO. Instead to resolving the issue, IGSSS was asked to shut shop, the NGO officials said.
