Government relents, Sambhavna receives fresh FCRA clearance
Activists and victims hugged and shared sweets to celebrate the announcement
Bhopal
Bringing cheer to gas victims and activists, the Ministry for Home Affairs on Friday reinstated a clearance for the Sambhavna Clinic to receive foreign contributions.
The victims had been staging an indefinite sit-in to press for the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration for the Sambhavna Trust, which runs the hospital.
The clinic, serving thousands of gas victims, had closed down on December 31 due to a financial crunch caused by delays in FCRA procedures.
The registration of the Sambhavna Trust was revoked after the organisation failed to submit its annual reports for the year 2017-18 within the deadlines set by the ministry.
Late last month, the clinic and an association of victims undergoing treatment at the facility said that the health centre was being closed down owing to the lack of FCRA clearances it requires to continue operating.
Since its inception, the Sambhavna Trust has relied on individual contributors in 40 countries for donations to serve a mix of medicine and therapies to gas victims.
The clinic will now open at regular timings from January 6.
