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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday revoked the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of the parent entity of the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA). The CFA, a non-profit, critically examines the roles of financial institutions and their impacts on development, human rights, and the environment. The Centre operates under the India Institute for Critical Action Centre in Movement, which was notified of the cancellation online.

Joe Athialy, the executive director of the Centre, told The Wire that the cancellation might be linked to a recent CFA report on environmental risks posed by the Adani Group in Gujarat’s Kutch. The report highlighted that additional projects sanctioned in a Special Economic Zone operated by the Adani Group would exacerbate environmental hazards, increase health risks for locals, further pollute the environment, and accelerate ecological degradation.

A July 7 report by the CFA said that the administration of Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh was arresting individuals displaced by an Adani coal mine, allegedly under pressure from the Adani company. Athialy suggested that the cumulative work of the institute over the past several years likely led to the FCRA registration cancellation.

Congress leader Pawan Khera slammed the Modi government over the swiftness with which the FCRA registration of CFA was revoked. He wrote on X, “Recently, CFA had reported that projects approved for the Adani Group in Gujarat’s Kutch region within a Special Economic Zone could threaten the environment and elevate health risks for local residents. And then you say, this government isn’t efficient?”

Joe Athialy explained that losing an FCRA license not only prevents the organisation from accepting foreign funds but also restricts access to its foreign contribution bank account. This decision is set to impact nearly 40 employees working at the Centre and on other projects under the institute, some of which focus on Dalit and Adivasi issues.

“The cancellation of the registration affects us very seriously because as a result of it, at the end of this month we won’t have money to pay the salaries of our employees,” Athialy said.

“The government is unable to create new jobs but is happy to take away existing ones,” he said.

The Narendra Modi-led government and the home ministry under Amit Shah have frequently used the FCRA to target non-profit organisations. According to a report by The Hindu, the government has cancelled the FCRA licenses of more than 6,600 NGOs in the last five years and 20,693 NGOs in the last decade.

In January, the government also revoked the FCRA registration of the Centre for Policy Research, a 50-year-old policy think-tank.