Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asks his District Collectors to ensure that organisations run by Missionaries of Charity do not suffer, offers funds from Chief Minister’s relief fund

The Missionaries of Charity runs many leprosy homes and orphanages in Odisha.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked District Collectors to be in regular touch with organisations run by the Missionaries of Charity in Odisha. On December 30, Patnaik directed District Collectors to ensure that no inmate of these organisations suffered, especially from food security and health related distress. "Wherever needed, funds from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund can be utilised for this purpose," the Chief Minister said.

The Missionaries of Charity runs many leprosy homes and orphanages in Odisha.

The Union Home Ministry had recently refused to renew the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic religious congregation established by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa in 1950. The FCRA registration is mandatory for any NGO or association to receive foreign funds or donations.

The Centre’s decision had come under criticism in various quarters.