The United Democratic Party (UDP) has urged the Joint Committee examining the FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026, to introduce safeguards to ensure the proposed changes do not adversely affect humanitarian, educational, health and social service institutions in Meghalaya.
In a letter to James P K Sangma, MP and member of the Joint Committee, UDP general secretary Titosstarwell Chyne said the party supported concerns raised by Church leaders and the Meghalaya government over the possible impact of the amendments on institutions providing public and community services.
The UDP submitted recommendations covering the proposed legislation and its rules. On Sections 16A to 16H concerning the vesting of assets, it called for automatic provisional vesting to be replaced with a court-supervised process and sought a provision preventing permanent vesting until all judicial appeals were completed.
The party opposed retrospective application of the proposed vesting provisions, recommending that they apply only to foreign contributions received after the 2026 Act comes into force. It said assets created before that date should remain outside their scope. The UDP also sought exemptions for assets administered by minority institutions, citing constitutional rights under Articles 25 to 30.
For Sixth Schedule areas and states covered under Articles 371A to 371H, the party proposed safeguards against the sale or transfer of vested property. It suggested that such transfers require prior approval from the concerned Autonomous District Council or state government and comply with applicable land laws.
The UDP also called for registration to be denied only after a final conviction rather than on the basis of an FIR and sought permission for organisations under suspension to use existing funds for salaries and statutory payments. It proposed limiting criminal liability to office-bearers who knowingly authorised violations rather than extending it broadly to institutional functionaries.
On the proposed rules, the party sought exemptions for honorary foreign advisers associated with minority institutions, broader operational categories instead of 105 detailed classifications, and time-bound clearance of foreign funds within 30 days. It also called for domestic expenditure to be considered when assessing whether an organisation was carrying out reasonable levels of activity.
The UDP further called for wider consultations with state governments, Church bodies and Autonomous District Councils before the amendments were finalised. It recommended that the proposed changes be examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee to develop an FCRA framework that addressed regulatory concerns while taking into account the role of voluntary and faith-based institutions providing services in Meghalaya and the wider North East.
