National Foundation for Communal Harmony hasn't met in 2 years, reveals RTI

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The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has not held a meeting in the last two years, a Right to Information (RTI) filed by Govindan Nampoothiry, an activist, has shown.

According to a report by the Times of India, the body, which assists children hit by communal violence and promotes national integration, "shall meet as often as necessary but not less than once in a year" according to its MoU. The foundation had last met on April 12, 2018, despite communal riots in Delhi in February this year. That was under the chairmanship of Rajnath Singh, the then Home Minister of India.

According to the newspaper, the body has not met even once under the new home minister Amit Shah. A query submitted by the newspaper regarding the issue to the ministry's spokesperson did not elicit any response, according to the report.

According to the report, while the governing council of the body is tasked with the formulation of overall policies, the executive council is responsible for the management and the administration. The former is chaired by the home minister, while the latter is headed by the Union home secretary.

The report stated that the executive council has met nine times since 2014-15, and had last met in March this year. According to the RTI reply, the NFCH has provided assistance to 3,397 children during the 2019-20 period.