Guidelines for debarring of NGOs / other agencies by

NABARD has been providing various types of financial assistance to NGOs / other agencies for implementation of programmes for agriculture and rural development. However, it is observed that some agencies fail to deliver the agreed outcome / deliverables of the project assigned on account of various reasons including malafide intentions. This results in misutilisation of financial assistance and necessitates undertaking an exercise by NABARD whereby such agencies are identified and debarred from further financial assistance / support from NABARD. The guidelines for stopping of further financial assistance and debarring of NGOs / other agencies include process for identification of these agencies, procedure to be followed for stopping of further financial assistance / debarring and an appeal mechanism. Guidelines for debarring of NGOs / other agencies by NABARD are as under:

Guidelines for stopping of further financial assistance and debarring of NGOs / other agencies by NABARD

1. NABARD has been providing various types of financial assistance to NGOs / other agencies for implementation of programmes for agriculture and rural development. Other agencies may include societies, trusts, companies, etc., which have availed financial assistance either in the form of grant, grant- cum-loan or loan, etc. However, it is observed that occasionally these agencies fail to deliver the results / outcome expected of the projects assigned, resulting in misutilisation of financial assistance, loss of reputation to NABARD, etc. This necessitates undertaking an exercise whereby the agencies which are not implementing the sanctioned projects properly, as per the important terms and conditions of sanction of NABARD are identified and debarred from further financial assistance / support from NABARD. However, care may be taken by NABARD to ensure that the activities beyond the control of NGOs i.e., due to natural calamities, etc., are properly documented through timely monitoring of mortality of plants/loss of livestock/assets, etc., so that NGOs with genuine difficulties and reasons beyond their control are not subject to debarring by NABARD.

2. Sources of information for identification of NGOs / other agencies which are not implementing NABARD assisted projects properly The NGOs / agencies which are not implementing NABARD assisted projects properly may be identified using inputs from any of the following sources. Monitoring visit reports of the Regional Offices / Head Office of NABARD indicating such deficiencies, inspection reports of NABARD indicating the major irregularities, newspaper / media reports / phone calls on improper functioning of the agencies subject to verification and confirmation through monitoring visits by NABARD officials, half yearly or annual review of projects implemented by NGOs / other agencies and observations by Concurrent Auditor of NABARD, etc., are some of the sources of inputs for identification of such NGOs / other agencies for stopping of further financial assistance and debarring of such agencies. The procedure for immediate stopping of further financial assistance is indicated below.

3. Procedure to be followed for Stopping of Further Financial Assistance to NGOs/other agencies Financial assistance to such identified NGOs / other agencies may be stopped immediately with the approval of CGM / OIC of the Regional Office of NABARD when the following deficiencies and / or major irregularities as indicated below are observed.

3.1 Deficiencies i. Non-adherence to stipulated important terms and conditions of the sanctioned project of NABARD, irregular submission of MIS, non-convening of Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee meetings (PMIC) by NGOs, undue delay in submission of audited statement of accounts and utilization certificate to NABARD, etc. ii. NGO/agency diverts the funds, changes the location / beneficiaries of the project without prior approval of NABARD. iii. Absence of transparency in financial dealings including non-audit of financial statements of NGOs / other agencies. iv. Persistent default in loan repayment / interest payment under any of the programmes of NABARD. v. Wrong reporting or concealing of facts about the progress in implementation of the NABARD assisted project.