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Vinson Kurian

There has been no consensus on what should be the ideal nature of relationship between the Government and the Third Sector organisations.

Thiruvananthapuram , May 2

INITIATION of self-help groups (SHGs) as individual groups under various non-government organisations (NGOs) in Kerala has led to a surge in the number of voluntary organisations seeking to get registered, leading to a swell in the ranks of the so-called `Third Sector'.

The Third Sector is loosely premised to include co-operative bodies, charitable organisations and non-governmental organisations. Co-operatives get financial and legal support from the State Government while charitable bodies receive financial support from other sources, too.

The mushrooming SHGs of women formed under the auspices of an NGO are also seeking to register themselves as charitable societies. There is an undesirable increase in the number of such organisations, says a "Status Report on the Third Sector" in the State by Dr R. Jayalakshmi and Dr T. Paranjothi of the Institute of Cooperative Management (ICM), Thiruvananthapuram.

The Government, however, has largely encouraged these registrations as part of a larger policy initiative. Neither do they come under the jurisdiction of any regulatory authority.

There is a perceptible trend towards involving the voluntary and non-profit organisations more effectively in the policy-making process. The implications are manifold, and range from "mere technical or practical problems to philosophical dilemma to political intrigues".

There has been no consensus on what should be the ideal nature of relationship between the Government and the Third Sector organisations.

It is now being increasingly felt that the Government organisations have confined themselves to looking after governance only, creating a space for the Third Sector organisations to play a developmental role.

In the considered view of the authors, focussed studies must go into this aspect before taking a decision on the nature and extent of the involvement of these organisations in the policy process. But, there cannot be a blanket approach that would go to destroy their participatory nature.

In this context, the State Government's bias towards withdrawing from such participatory programmes, coupled with its pronounced commitment to decentralisation and wooing of private players into key sectors such as tourism, tend to send out conflicting signals.

The lack of a regulatory mechanism that would check the unbridled growth in the number of these organisations is being felt more than ever before, say the authors.

Neither has there been any documentation on the nature of their activities and impact on the society. The Government of India thought it fit to blacklist some organisations as unfit to receive any State funding.

The sheer diversity of the Third Sector is also posing another problem in dealing effectively with them.

According to the authors, it is high time a national forum of researchers and interested practitioners is floated to explore the issues in tandem and come up with policy initiatives.

More Stories on : Rural Development | Kerala

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