GOVERNMENT-NGO INTERFACE IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW

SWAPAN GARAIN

The crucial role of NGOs vis-a-vis government's efforts to improve the conditions of the poor and the
disadvantaged has been debated since independence. In the absence of a clear NGO policy of the
government, this paper makes an effort to explore the role of the government in the promotion of the NGO
sector in India. Although government documents and government appointed committee reports reflect the
need for increased NGO participation in government sponsored development efforts, only a few concrete
steps have been taken in this direction. There is an ever increasing realisation about the importance of a
continuous dialogue between different levels of bureaucracy and the NGO sector to develop confidence
and accept each other as equal partners for the development of the poor, deprived and disadvantaged. This
paper analyses these issues and includes only those NGOs engaged in development work and excludes
the ones working in the field of welfare for the destitute, handicapped, aged, etc.
Dr. Swapan Garain is Reader, Dept. of Social Welfare Administration, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Bombay.

Role Identification for NGOs

Given the unique Indian situation — of geographical vastness and Socio-cultural diver-
sity within and between the states and regions, it is imperative that the government
machinery will play the dominant role in improving the conditions of the millions of the
people. Government machinery includes the vast bureaucratic establishment, judiciary,
peoples' institutions, and government promoted development agencies. Nevertheless,
non-government organisations (NGOs) will continue to have a crucial role in the overall
development efforts in the country. On the one hand governmental endeavour will
dominate the national and regional scene, on the other, importance of NGOs in the
micro/local level intervention cannot be ignored. There are areas where NGOs and
government agencies can and should work together in the interest of the people
(ANGOC, 1984). It is a question of who plays what role at what level. Government
agencies will implement programmes, which are planned at macro-level for the benefit
of large sections of population spread over every corner of the country. NGOs will work
at isolated pockets, and will work with the issues touching the people at the grassroots.
NGOs' role may be broadly classified into the following categories: First, NGOs make
adaptations in applications of schemes planned by the government at macro level to
specific situations considering local requirements. Often, the government, under certain
funding provisions through different ministries and autonomous agencies (like CA-
PART), provides broad guidelines for proposing a project and NGOs are called upon to
formulate a project proposal taking local situations into consideration. Second, NGOs
undertake a role supporting the actions/programmes carried out by government agen-
cies. Although they may directly aid to implement government efforts, these NGOs may
not necessarily have government support or recognition. For example, an NGO which
is engaged in conscientising the rural poor, may assist the target group to avail benefits
under the government antipoverty programmes and in turn, aid the Block Development
Officer in executing the Integrated Rural Development Programme. In spite of such a
role the NGO may be in conflict with the local bureaucracy. Third, the role of the NGOs
may be in the form of providing approaches alternative to government policies and
programmes, addressing different problems of the target groups. Ashish Gram Rachana
Trust of Pachod, Maharashtra has developed a community health approach, which is
338 Swapan Garain

considered to be an alternative to primary health care system of the government. Fourth,

NGOs develop backward and forward linkages for enhancing the effectiveness of their
own and of the government in undertaking development opportunities. For example,
PRADAN, an NGO promoting rural enterprises as a strategy for development of the
rural poor, carried out projects in Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh,
involving backward (for example, exploration of opportunities and resources, identifica-
tion and training of manpower, developing channels for supply of raw material and other
resources) and forward linkages (e.g., promoting networking for marketing products).
On the other hand, government rural development efforts have been to provide mostly
credit support through IRDP or DWCRA for self-employment or entrepreneurship in the
informal sector. Fifth, NGOs supplement government efforts particularly in reaching out
to the less accessible target groups and at times complement existing services in
response to the other needs of the same target groups.

Another role relates to more radical NGOs which take a completely different perspective.
They believe that social transformation is a necessity to change the conditions of the
deprived and disadvantaged. Structural readjustment if not change, is required to transform
the exploitative social system. The government which operates in the existing structural
adjustments cannot afford to do anything which will shake its own base. As a result
pro-establishment oriented (government) efforts cannot be responsive to the needs and
problems of the common people in the real sense. These NGOs adopted for themselves a
critical role within the existing legal-political system (Garilao, 1987). Across the NGOs
working at the grassroots level, there is some sort of consensus on the role of NGOs in
critically evaluating government policies and programmes affecting the disadvantaged.
Whenever the move of the government machinery — administrative, legal or political —
affects the interests of the poor, particularly the rural poor, and favours the elite, even in the
rural areas, NGOs have a basic commitment to play an active role. They may even take the
extreme step to conscientise and mobilise people to raise their voice in protest against
government action and to protect their own interests.

Role identification at the NGO level starts with the realisation that the task is tremendous
and the government has limitations in terms of its orientation, approach, resources,
manpower and local level support system among the beneficiaries and other constitu-
ents in the community.

Government vis-a-vis NGOs

While the NGOs generally enjoy a state of open collaboration with the government in
developed countries, many of the NGOs which are operating in India learn to live in a
situation of distrust and suspicion with the government machinery, particularly at the
local level. The alternative measures adopted by NGOs to address a problem are often
looked down upon by the government, particularly the bureaucracy at the local level.
Mutual cooperation and support between NGOs and local level bureaucracy depends
mostly on the perspective of the individual bureaucrat rather than government norm or
policy implementation. While there are limitations to institutionalising expected behav-
iour of a government officer due to local level variation and differing characters of NGOs
operating in the area, individualisation of development perspective is found to be useful
as it is based on personal orientation and involvement of the bureaucrat in NGO work.
Personal factors like style of functioning, past experience, interpersonal relationship with
the NGO leaders etc. play a critical role in improving the efficacy in relationship between
government officials and NGOs.
 Government-NGO Interface in India 339

The question of funds flowing from the government to NGOs is an important criteria in
shaping the relationship between the two. There are two distinct opinions on this issue.
One group suggests that NGOs should function independently. They should neither
receive government funds nor directly implement government programmes as they
affect independence and voluntarism. The government policy is in favour of supporting
and directly funding NGOs. But many NGOs perceive this as the beginning of govern-
ment control of the NGO sector. In support of this point, NGOs recall the experience of
the cooperative sector. Provision of government funds for the cooperatives resulted in
bureaucratic control and political interference.
The other group propagates the idea of cooperation of NGOs with the government to
achieve the common goal of improving the conditions of the poor. None of them can
and should really function independent of the other to fulfill their objectives. It is felt that
NGOs have a specific role to play in government programmes targeting the poor. This
role of educating , organising and reaching out to the poor which is essential in any
programme, cannot be played by the local bureaucracy. Since the government is in a
position to help NGOs with financial assistance, NGOs may receive funds directly from
the government in achieving their objectives. There are supporters for both the groups
among the bureaucrats, politicians and NGOs. There is another group in the NGO sector
which believes in a middle path. According to this moderate group, NGOs need not
receive government funds directly, but they may mobilise the target group to derive
benefits of the government's anti-poverty programmes directly. These NGOs support
the implementation of government programmes without directly receiving and account-
ing for government funds. This group sees the NGOs as catalytic agents.

Government involving NGOs in National Development

Since Independence, several government departments and ministries have been turn-
ing to the NGOs for assistance in designing and executing training and extension
programmes. As early as 1955, the Ministry of Education selected certain NGOs to
design, develop and promote rural higher education according to the changing needs
of the rural areas. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
and the Ministry of Rural Development are the three other crucial ministries which have
been independently providing financial assistance to the NGOs. The concerned minis-
tries respond to the NGOs in two ways: a) by providing funds for the government
designed schemes to be executed by the NGOs, and b) by providing funds for the project
proposals designed by the NGOs themselves. Considering the importance of NGO
involvement, the ministries, in the recent past, have started making some efforts to draw
the officials who are interested in working with NGOs, to staff the concerned sections
for maintaining a healthy relationship with the NGO sector.

After Independence, the Government of India identified certain areas for state interven-
tion such as health, education etc., and assumed limited responsibilities in sectors like
social welfare. The government provided support to NGOs to undertake projects for the
benefit of women, children, youth, handicapped and destitutes through the Ministry of
Social Welfare at the central and state level and through government sponsored
autonomous bodies.
In the First Five Year Plan, NGOs were identified as social service organisations,
particularly in the field of care, protection and rehabilitation of the disadvantaged. The
National Institute for Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) was estab-
lished to institutionalise government efforts to promote NGOs in the country. NIPCCD
340 Swapan Garain

concentrated in the area of training voluntary workers, supporting NGO activities and
promoting liaison between government and NGOs. The perspective of this Institute a
drastically changed in terms of its focus by the Sixth Five Year Plan (Roy, 1987). NIPCCD
has become the apex body for training functionaries, and coordinate monitor and
evaluate the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme of the Government of
India, besides expanding its work on the handicapped and women. Involvement of
NIPCCD in the area of public cooperation and NGOs has become minimum.
The Third Five Year Plan characterised the NGO action as an aspect of public
cooperation. The National Advisory Committee for Public Cooperation (NACPC) came
into existence in 1952 with the twin objective of: a) assessing the existing programmes
in connection with national development, and b) advising the Planning Commission in
this area on an on-going basis. By the Third Five Year Plan it was found that NACPC
had representatives mostly from national NGOs. Many of the member NGOs did not
even have grassroots activity. As the public cooperation got institutionalised, NACPC
gradually lost its credibility in the eyes of small and comparatively new NGOs (Roy,
1987).

In 1953, the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was set up under the Union Ministry
of Social Welfare with the objective of providing financial assistance, coordination,
training, technical guidance, consultancy and promoting-NGOs engaged in activities for
women and children. In order to reach out to the local NGOs and to respond spontane-
ously by way of processing applications for grants speedily and releasing funds in time,
the CSWB established state level Social Welfare Advisory Boards. An evaluation of
CSWB has recorded that it (CSWB) has been reduced to a fund disbursing agency of
the government. CSWB's objective of providing technical guidance in the form of
training, supervision, and consultancy to promote and coordinate voluntary action was
not attended to. Now the government is contemplating to reduce CSWB's scope only
to welfare activities like protective, promotive and rehabilitative services (that is, creche,
condensed course of education for women, counselling to individuals with personal and
interpersonal problems). In the changed circumstances, CSWB may be deprived of its
scope over developmental activities for women and children like vocational training for
self-employment, socio-economic production centres, awareness generation, leader-
ship building, and forward-backward linkages for women entrepreneurs. The Central
Government perspective over these issues is yet to take specific shape. At the Centre,
a separate Department of Women and Child Development under the Ministry of Human
Resource Development has been created. With the preparation of National Perspective
Plan for Women and establishment of state level Women's Development Corporations,
CSWB's role in promoting and assisting NGOs in the development activities for women
and children has been drastically reduced. The government's approach in involving
NGOs in this new role is yet to be explicitly stated.

From the middle of the Sixth Plan, there have been a number of initiatives at the
Government of India level to institutionalise a dialogue between the government and
NGOs. In this connection, the then Prime Minister had written to all the Chief Ministers
in October 1982 with a suggestion to establish consultative group of voluntary agencies
under the chairmanship of either the Chief Secretary or the Development Commissioner.
The objective of setting up of consultative group would be to widen the role of NGOs in
the implementation of schemes under the twenty point programme. It was envisaged
that the periodic meeting of such group would give an useful feedback on actual
implementation of the programmes and help in sorting out difficulties affecting the work
 Government-NGO Interfeace in India 341

of NGOs. It was clearly stated that only the NGOs having grassroots level work in the
villages would have representatives on the group. In 1985, the then Deputy Chairman,
Planning Commission, followed up with the establishment of consultative groups with
state governments. Although it was a constructive initiative in establishing a dialogue,
very few states formed consultative groups. Whenever the groups were formed, the
regular meetings were not held because of the absence of proper perspective in the
bureaucracy to accept NGOs as an alternative to government strategy to reach out to
the rural poor. Besides, the government policy to help the NGOs was not made clear to
the concerned government officials. Given all the shortcomings it was a step in the right
direction. The move on creating consultative committees of NGOs at the state level met
with a natural death in the absence of further follow-up by the Central Government, lack
of political will at the state level to open up and listen to NGOs, and absence of financial
allocation for such committees.

Another most significant move in the field of government-NGO relationship has been
the healthy revival of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign Committee, later named as
People's Action for Development, India (PADI). It was created as a forum, where
representatives of national level NGOs with grassroots level rural development work
could give feedback to the government. The mandate for PADI was to promote voluntary
efforts, channel foreign and national government funds for implementing rural develop-
ment programmes, and above all protect the interests of the NGOs in the country. NGOs
were represented both in the general body as well as the governing council of PADI. In
1983, the Council for the Advancement of Rural Technology (CART) was set up to
improve the conditions in rural areas through innovation and diffusion of appropriate
technology with the help of NGOs. In 1986, the Council for the Advancement of People's
Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) was created, merging CART and PADI.
CAPART retained the basic objectives of CART and PADI and sought to make an
integrated approach to rural development through NGOs. CAPART was promoted as
an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Rural Development. A number
of individuals and NGOs, who have been working in the field of rural development, are
members of the general body and of the managing committee of CAPART. It is
considered to be one of the large funding bodies in the country.

In 1982, the Planning Commission discussed the idea of including a policy document
on the involvement of NGOs in the Seventh Five Year Plan document (Government of
India, 1985a). The policy document under the chapter rural development identified the
role of rural NGOs, put the criteria for identifying such NGOs, and indicated the
programmes and areas in which NGOs' involvement would be encouraged. The
government made a commitment to spend Rs. 150 crores through the NGOs during the
Seventh Five Year Plan. CAPART and its nodal agencies (mostly designated state level
NGOs) that were identified/established in almost all states were made responsible for
channeling government funds to NGOs for anti-poverty programmes. Beside providing
financial assistance to NGOs for executing government designed rural development
programmes (e.g., DWCRA, employment generation programmes) CAPART gives grants
to NGOs to design projects and to work in rural areas in the field of voluntary action,
rural development and rural technology.

In 1986, on the initiative of the Consultant (Voluntary Agencies) to Planning Commission,

and CAPART, a draft proposal to establish a Council for Rural Voluntary Agencies and
Code of Conduct through an Act of Parliament was put forward for discussion. This
move was linked with the Seventh Plan document on NGOs and the government's
342 Swapan Garain

intention to involve NGOs in implementing anti-poverty programmes in rural areas. It

was envisaged in the Bill that the NGOs would themselves regulate affairs and establish
for themselves a code of conduct which will become the basis for their own account-
ability. As a result, NGOs seeking government funds do not have to go through the rigid
procedures of getting their proposals cleared by various ministries. This created a lot of
debate in the NGO sector. The city based large NGOs were in the forefront of gathering
support to reject the move. The group favouring such a move has been arguing that it
will bring an end to the dependence on foreign funds, will give equal weightage to the
small, medium and large NGOs, and will create a platform to sort out differences
between NGOs and the government. Ideological and other differences among the
NGOs, and the type of influence of the chief person behind an NGO, were attempted
to be neutralised. The other group argued that a statutory base for the Council and the
Code of Conduct was against the spirit of voluntarism, affecting the independence of
NGOs and their capacity to project the critique of government policies and programmes
affecting the marginalised sections. It was feared that it will lead to more bureaucrati-
sation of NGOs and meet the same fate like the cooperative sector. On the face of strong
opposition from a section of the NGO sector, the issue seems to have met with a natural
death.

In examining the govemment-NGO interface in India, it becomes significant to note the

process through Which the government has been directing and controlling the contribu-
tion of NGOs (for example, through funding literacy work, Krishi Vigyan Kendras for
agriculture, work on handicapped, etc.) in the country's development process (ESCAP,
1989). From the very first planned effort, the government has been explicitly stating the
significance of NGOs in the country's development efforts and also planning for the
NGO sector. At times, the government officials, who are engaged in preparing the
blueprint of the programmes to be executed by the NGO sector, have no experience in
working with NGOs. As a consequence, only large NGOs with their bureaucratic pattern
of functioning have been in a position to receive government money. Small NGOs
working in inaccessible pockets cannot reach out the benefits of such government
schemes to the most needy sections of the rural population.

The concept of NGO, the importance given to the NGOs and their contribution/role
expectation of the government in development efforts have undergone a significant
change over different Five Year Plans. During the period of seven Five Year Plans, the
government perspective towards the NGO sector changed from government planning
for the NGOs and funding schemes to government encouraging the NGOs to plan for
themselves and advancing financial assistance to them. This is a very positive trend.

Official Committees on NGO Efforts

A number of government appointed committees dealing with development have acknow-

ledged the need for the involvement of NGOs. The Balvantray Mehta Committee (1957),
the architect of Panchayati Raj administration, emphasised the need for close coopera-
tion and collaboration between statutory organisations and the NGOs. The Mehta
Committee states, "Today in the implementation of the various schemes of community
development, more and more emphasis is laid on non-governmental agencies and
workers and on the principle that ultimately people's own local organizations should take
over the entire work". The Rural Urban Relationship Committee (1966) focused on the
role of NGOs in mobilising community support for local level development activities. It
 Government-NGO Interface in India 343

identified NGOs as the linking organisation to keep constant and close contact with the
people. In the words of the Committee on Panchayat Institutions (1978):
Of the several voluntary organizations engaged in rural welfare, a few have helped
the Panchayati Raj Institutions in micro-planning exercises. They prepare compre-
hensive area development plans, conduct feasibility studies and cost/benefit analysis,
explore ways and means to induce local participation in planning and implementation.
AVARD (Association of Voluntary Agencies in Rural Development) also provides
consultancy services in project formulation and assists its member agencies with
technical support. Voluntary agencies, if they have requisite expertise, proven stand-
ing and well equipped organisation, can assist Panchayati Raj Institutions in the
planning process. They can be particularly involved in formulation of projects and
schemes. They can also help to create strong public opinion in support of measures
aimed at social change.

This Committee, commonly known as the Ashoka Mehta Commission, with all appre-
ciation for the role of NGOs has clearly identified the areas in which NGOs could be
involved in government development efforts at the local level. The CAARD Report (1985)
(Report of the Committee to Review the Existing Administrative Arrangements for Rural
Development and Poverty Alleviation Programmes), one of the recent government docu-
ments, has emphasised the need for the involvement of NGOs in rural development activities
(Government of India, 1985b: 49-55). The Report accepts the fact that given the nature and
extent of the problem of poverty and absence of associated infrastructural facilities in rural
areas, the government alone cannot deliver goods. The Committee recognised the unique
role of voluntary agencies to reach out to the target groups. The Committee for the
implementation of legal aid schemes under the Chairmanship of Justice P.N. Bhagwati set
up a Sub-committee to provide the necessary support to social action groups in the rural
areas. Senior government officials are represented in this Sub-committee to assist in the
work of local activist groups engaged in rural development (Government of India, 1985b:
50-51).

Changing Scenario: Government Control over NGOs and Areas of Concern

At times, the image of the NGOs also comes under attack from the government. In the
late sixties and early seventies, the gap between the rich and the poor became
increasingly visible. Peoples' dissatisfaction level increased over the insiginificant
impact of government's development efforts since Independence and began to get
expressed. Problems during successive draught, famine, unemployment and inflation
adversely affected the economy and as a natural consequence, the rural poor suffered
the most. In response to government's call for help and also the availability of foreign
funds which led to the growth of NGOs, the NGOs began to attract more and more young
people and were able to build their support base. During this period a large number of
struggle oriented NGOs came into existence. Jai Prakash Narayan gave a call for total
revolution and many NGOs joined him. The situation in the country started deteriorating
and the government took repressive action against the NGOs. The Central Government
for a variety of reasons imposed a state of Emergency. After the Emergency, it passed
the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of 1976 (FCRA) to regulate foreign funding for
Indian NGOs, individuals and political parties. Besides primary registration under
Societies Registration Act, or the Trusts Act, or the Indian Companies Act, etc., all NGOs
intending to receive funds from abroad are required to register with the Union Home
Ministry under the FCR Act. This additional registration (other than basic registration)
344 Swapan Garain

aims at ensuring that the government has full knowledge of the total foreign funds flowing
to the NGO sector and the purpose for which these funds are spent. Agencies engaged
in activities considered to be a threat to national security (internal or external), particu-
larly those operating in sensitive and border areas, are prevented from getting foreign
funds. Some organisations are asked to obtain prior permission for every remittance.
The government has no obligation to show reasons for cancelling this registration. Many
a times, change in government and even change in the official-in-charge decide the fate
of an NGO in the FCRA net.
In the post-Emergency election, the Congress Government was uprooted, and the
Janata Party, consisting of many prominent Gandhian leaders, whose actions provo-
cated the Congress government to declare Emergency, came to power. After the fall of
the Janata Government, the Congress Government appointed a Commission of Enquiry
(commonly known as Kudal Commission) to look into the functioning of the Gandhian
NGOs working with the rural poor. Justice Kudal's Congress connection and the style
of operation of the Kudal Commission attracted a lot of criticism during its long years of
operation and its repeated extension of terms. In 1989 the Kudal Commission submitted
its final report recommending the Government to take over the major Gandhian
institutions. The Commission could not come out with any specific/incriminating facts
against NGOs.

The undesirable effects of government control are evident in different ways. Small as well
as new NGOs largely depend on government funds and hence become the victim of
bureaucratic norms and procedures of the government, particularly the releasing of grants
in time. As a consequence, the programme suffers. In order to avoid lengthy procedures,
and the bureaucrats involved in administering funds/projects for NGOs, large and well
established NGOs have been relying on aid from overseas sources. Requirements of
registration with the Central Government for receiving foreign funds often affect the
functioning of NGOs due to certain related factors like delay in processing applications for
registration, harassment by intelligence officials, cancelling registration without giving an
opportunity to the NGO to explain its position, preventing a funding agency to support NGOs
operating in a particular geographical area and such others. Besides, provisions under tax
and investment laws, institution of enquiry commissions (for example, on the affairs of Bharat
Sevak Samaj, Indian Council of Child Welfare, etc.) are different government arms which
affect the functioning of NGOs. Whether some of the necessary control mechanisms for the
NGOs can be developed and operated effectively within the NGO sector and be permitted
by the government to replace its regulatory role, need to be examined.

On the face of the increasing preference by international bodies as well as the people
themselves for NGOs, we need to take note of two sets of NGOs promoted by corporate
capitalism of the state. The first group of organisations consists of a small number of
constituents, who are strategically very powerful due to their command on resources
and the resulting impact. They are promoted by the government as corporate NGOs in
order to make way for the entry of global market interests into Indian economy. They
are neither accountable directly to the government nor to the people's representatives.
The National Dairy Development Board, the National Wasteland Development Board
are two of the examples of this kind. These constituents are more centralised than the
government bureaucracy and are often conveniently used by the government to defuse
mobilisation of the deprived and affected sections against government's policy decisions
and to promote the new path of capitalist growth. In the process, both the local
communities, as well as the state bureaucracy get marginalised (Kothari, 1986). For
 Government-NGO Interface in India 345

example, the establishment of the Wasteland Development Board denied the traditional
rights of the rural poor or tribals over vested/waste/community land, deprived the local
bureaucracy from developing and promoting the productive use of the local wasteland
and earning a little revenue, and facilitated the entry of global market interests.
The other set of organisations consists of development oriented NGOs who live on the
privileges and funds offered to them by the government. In a reciprocal gesture, they
do not question the larger policy thrust of government actions. In the process these
NGOs are used by the government to further the capitalist interest. Thus the international
preference of NGOs has opened another way for the government to promote and use
NGOs (may be termed as GONGO — government organised NGOs) to further the
capitalist interest of the state, marginalising the poor.

It is important to distinguish growth oriented development vis-a-vis development with

justice, and the relationships among the constituents or actors in the development
efforts, including the NGO sector. The politicisation of the NGOs, particularly of those
engaged in grassroots level target group mobilisation, will be critical for upholding the
values of voluntarism and democratic practices. In order to speed up the process of
politicisation of the target groups or deprived sections, an active collaboration between
the grassroots NGOs and other organisations contributing to the democratic processes
like the media, human rights groups and the judiciary will be a critical factor (Kothari,
1987). The state will continue to play an active role in the people's struggle against
poverty and backwardness. Although NGOs cannot eradicate poverty, they can play a
crucial role in creating pressure on the government by mobilising the poor to transform
the existing exploitative nature of socio-economic arrangements in the country. The
democratic pressure put on the government to address this fundamental issue should
not be mistaken as an anti-state activity of the NGOs. Initiating change and affecting
the pro-establishment oriented system would be subject to strong resistance on the part
of vested interest groups. NGOs can play a role in reducing if not neutralising this
resistance.

How can the NGOs collaborate with the government while retaining their basic attrib-
utes? Can NGOs function in isolation of the government? To what extent can NGOs
perform their role effectively if they link up with government policies and programmes?
There is a need for an on-going dialogue between NGOs and the government. This will
create opportunities for both the parties to meet, interact, work together and build up
mutual confidence for the common cause. An environment is to be created for the
government and the NGOs to accept each other as equal actors in the development
process which will prepare them to listen, learn and act on a mutually agreed path. In
any case, NGOs should not deviate from their mission to protect and promote the
interests of the oppressed and exploited people, and should establish their credentials
in criticising government actions favouring the vested interests.

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346 Swapan Garain

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