MHA grants FCRA registration to Golden Temple for langar distribution

The Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Saheb Darbar Saheb Punjab Association has been granted registration to receive foreign funds by the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to run 'langar' services to the devotees of Golden temple in Amritsar, Punjab and help the poor. The association had applied for the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration on May 27.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs Wednesday granted registration under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 to Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Saheb Darbar Saheb Punjab Association to receive foreign funds for providing free food and other such facilities to the devotees of Golden Temple.

The Amritsar-based association set up in 1925, so far has been taking donations within the country and now it has got MHA grant to receive foreign funds which will be valid for a period of five years, sources said.

Union Minister and MP from Punjab Harsimat Badal thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and stated, "Happy to share that MHA has granted approval under FCRA to Sri Harmandir Sahib. This will enable the screen to receive 'sewa' from all over the world and go a long way in propagating Gurusahab's philosophy of 'sarbat da bhala'. I'm grateful to Amit Shah Ji for making this possible."

As per the sources, the Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Saheb Darbar Saheb Punjab Association had applied for the FCRA registration on May 27 and it has been running 'langar' services to the devotees of Golden temple in Amritsar, Punjab.

The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is an organisation in India responsible for the management of Gurudwara Sikh place of worship in various states including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh. The committee also administers Darbar Sahib in Amritsar.

"Since the coronavirus lockdown, the SGPC has been providing the needy with food. The SGPC caters to around 2 lakh people from economically weaker sections of society daily," SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal had told ETV Bharat in April.

When one visits SGPC's official website, an icon appears regarding online modes of payment. This icon appeals to the devotees to contribute to Golden temple langar, which is feeding the needy people in Amritsar. These people include the migrant workers stranded in the city and the poor.

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs had suspended the foreign funding licence of 13 NGOs and associations for allegedly indulging in religious conversion in tribal-dominated areas in violation of provisions of the FCRA Act, 2010.

The MHA had then frozen the bank account of these NGOs after intelligence report had pointed to their conversion of locals to Christianity in some tribal areas of certain states including Jharkhand.