An NGO finds special favour with Khattar govt

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10

Haryana’s BJP government’s move to appoint “experts” from a non-governmental organisation — formed three months after Manohar Lal Khattar took over as Chief Minister in October 2014 — as “directors” in the state-owned boards and corporations has raised eyebrows.

Subscribing to right-wing politics, the NGO Global Village Foundation (GVF) claims to be engaged in social and economic research.

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Balram Nandwani, Trustee and Chairman of GVF, is working as an Independent Director of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVN) and is also Chairman of the Audit Committee. After the Chairman-Cum-Managing Director, he is the second-most important person in the UHBVN hierarchy.

Another former GVF member, Sunil Sharma, has been made the nodal authority to manage mining operations of the Haryana State Industry and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), Chief Coordinator in the Industries Department and also the head, estate division of HSIIDC. 

GVF Governing Council member Tilak Chandnana has been appointed as Director, HSIIDC. The founder trustee and mentor of GVF, Anirudh Rajput, claims on the NGO’s website that he has been involved in advising the government on a wide range of economic and social issues. Raj Nehru, also from GVF, has been cleared for appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the newly formed Vishwakarma Skill Development University.

Inquiries reveal that Nandwani, who has been given a key post in UHBVN, is also a director in power generation company Ranital Hydro Ventures Private Limited. This company has three other directors, each of whom is also a director in Dera Hydro Power Project and have clear links with a power trading company – Mittals Group. Mittals Group, which also supplies power to Haryana, is involved in power trading, solar power generation, commodities trading and renewable energy.

Alleging a “conflict of interest”, Congress leader Ran Singh Mann claims the GVF is backed by a senior RSS leader. “In fact, Sunil Sharma, the nodal authority to manage mining operations, is believed to be the link between the Chief Minister and a senior RSS leader who was moved from Delhi to Bhopal, with instructions not to interfere in Haryana,” he alleges.

Mann questions the rationale of making GVF a nodal agency that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the government with the state’s Technical Education Department and NASSCOM with the purpose of providing jobs. BJP state president Subhash Barala, however, sees nothing amiss. “The Chief Minister has brought in experts from outside for better functioning of key departments. 

He has a long experience of working across the country and has picked up people he considers can deliver. As captain of the ship, he has the right to choose his team,” he says.

The GVF organised a GST Summit for the Excise and Taxation Department at Panchkula this September, a workshop on Skill Development at Gurgaon last May and many seminars and workshops on women empowerment, etc, for the Haryana Government.

Interestingly, the Government of India’s guidelines for NGOs clearly specify that to get any financial grants from the government, an NGO should have been in existence for a minimum of three years as evidenced by audited accounts and annual reports. GVF was incorporated in January 2015.

When asked about GVF’s role in Haryana Government affairs, Nandwani said, “The NGO is a think-tank to research on public policy. GVF has helped the government on GST and other issues; we are a group of professionals like economists, lawyers, chartered accountants. We are working with the government on various issues. We are people with a social background and all GVF Governing Council members work on a voluntary basis. I charge only sitting fee when I go for meetings.”

Nandwani said the Company Law requires appointment of an Independent Director and he was selected from among a number of names based on his background and experience. He confirmed that he was the first chartered accountant ever to be appointed as director in UHBVN.

The Board of Directors of DHBVN has a Chairman, three regular (technocrats) and two independent directors. The UHBVN has a Chairman-cum-Managing Director, two directors, two technical directors and two independent directors. All decisions are mandated to be taken by majority vote, but each member of the board can exercise considerable influence.

CM’s Media Adviser Amit Arya, when contacted, said: “GVF comprises a group of selfless professionals who are helping various state governments in formulating policy. They have also helped the Central government on certain matters. Similarly, they are working with the Haryana Government in their respective areas of specialisation.”

(To be continued)