Kathmandu, June 8

The government is preparing to tighten monitoring and regulation of NGOs and INGOs operating in the country.

Stating that anomalies had arisen in the activities of NGOs and INGOs due to the lack of oversight by the government, a meeting between Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa and Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Tham Maya Thapa to tighten the noose on I/NGOs.

Officials of both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare were present at the meeting held in Singha Durbar yesterday.

According to a press note released by the MoHA, the meeting also decided to direct all district administration offices to monitor and regulate NGOs and INGOs operating in their concerned districts and submit their reports to the MoHA and MoWCSS.

“The meeting agreed to develop and strictly implement a procedure on I/NGOs requiring their officials to disclose property details,” the press note stated.

The government is also set to serve a 15-day deadline for renewal of the I/NGOs that have not renewed their registration for the past three years. “If the I/NGOs are not renewed within the stipulated time-frame, their registration will be automatically revoked,” the note added.

Though around 47,000 NGOs and 200 INGOs are registered with the Social Welfare Council under the MoWCSS, many of them have not renewed their registration for years, the MoHA claimed.

Similarly, the concerned authorities have decided to not renew the registration of I/NGOs involved in corruption, political activism and conversion. “The meeting has also agreed to direct the SWC to submit the details of all NGO/INGOs registered with it to the MoHA and MoWCSS,” the press note stated. The ministries would also work together to curb trafficking in persons, it said.