Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, July 23: A high-level committee, constituted by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development, reached here today for financial, academic and infrastructure audit of the Central University of Jammu, which has been listed as one of the non-performing varsities of the country.
The four- member committee, headed by Prof K K Aggarwal, Chancellor of Kumar Manglam University, will conduct audit of the CUJ in light of numerous complaints of financial irregularities, dismal academic performance and poor standard of newly created infrastructure in the university, official sources told the Excelsior.
Besides meeting the CUJ Vice-Chancellor, faculty members, students and researchers, the MHRD committee will also inspect existing infrastructure of the university and cross-check the official records pertaining to finances, sources added.
Prof Palak Ghosh from IIM Bangalore, K P Pandian, Head Administration and Finance of National Centre for Biological Sciences and Prof Panchanan Mohanty from the University of Hyderabad, are other members of the committee, which will be scrutinizing the official records of CUJ for preparing a detailed audit report.
Pertinent to mention here that CUJ has been ranked 4th among 11 non-performing Centrally funded universities of the country, identified by MHRD in a list published recently. Miffed over dismal performance, the MHRD had asked University Grants Commission (UGC) to conduct an audit of these non-performing universities for academic and research quality.
However, keeping in view of numerous complaints of alleged irregularities in utilization of funds and corruption in payments made to the contractors by the CUJ during the past some time, the MHRD constituted a high-level committee to conduct financial audit also besides academic and infrastructure audit, sources said.
According to the sources, the MHRD panel will concentrate its audit on 19 specific complaints of corruption in payments, appointment of contractual Professors as Deans and Heads, violation in appointment of Group C posts, alleged favoritism in selections, playing with the carrier of Research Scholars, misuse of University funds, important official records provided to contractual teachers, violation of Central University Act in handing over the charge by Vice Chancellor, violation of norms in formation of Selection Committees of Assistant Professors, no OBC nominee (violation of UGC ordinance 19 with regard to selection of Assistant Professors), biased approach in selection for PRO post, recording of false statement in the official proceeding contrary to the facts for nefarious objectives, in-eligible Admission In-charge, in-eligible Proctor, unauthorized absence from duty, vindictive attitude of the Vice Chancellor, contractual Professors made as members in the Executive Council, etc.
While elaborating, sources said that the university has passed the bills worth Rs 180 crores in the absence of regular Finance Officer. Citing examples of corruption in payments, a complaint to the MHRD says that one of the contractors, M/s Anil & Co, Ghaziabad, is engaged for electrical works and it has to build seven electrical substations and lay down the cable along the roads besides erecting the electrical poles.
Even as the firm has not made even one electrical substation operational so far and there is delay in completion of works to the extent of 300 percent time, about 100 kms of HT/LT cables worth Rs 15.62 crore was purchased in bulk at site by the contractor against the agreement signed with the University and 60 percent (Rs 9.6 crores) payment was released by the CUJ. Despite huge expenditure, there has been no activity by the agency on site since February 2016.
The insistence for the release of the rest of the payment by the contractor was referred to the standing counsel by the university for a legal opinion. The legal opinion was against the release of the payment in absence of corresponding civil works and HT/LT cable laying, but strangely a payment of Rs 2 crores as revolving fund was made to the contractor through PMC EPIL during February 2017 against the legal opinion from the standing council, thereby creating financial irregularity inspite the fact that the Executive Engineer and I/c Finance Officer did not sign for release of this payment.
The buildings, which have been made operational so far, are not getting proper electricity due to non availability of electric substations. For example DDE building which is made operational where Administrative Wing and some of the Academic departments are functioning, is without proper electrical supply. The whole building was to be made Air Conditioned, but the same couldn’t be done due to non-availability of proper electrical supply. For Air conditioning, some window ACs have been installed which is unnecessary wastage of money.
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