The Delhi University’s (DU) proposal to buy over 400 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flats using unspent non-plan funds of Rs 200 crore, has been turned down by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). According to sources, the MHRD has rejected the proposal saying that while making the proposal for the purchase of the flats, “DU did not follow due process”.
When asked, Rajesh Jha, a newly elected Executive Council (EC) member of DU, said that under the 12th Five-Year Plan, an amount of Rs 300 crore was given to DU to upgrade its infrastructure in the period of 2012 to 2017. Out of this, DU utilised Rs 100 crore. The university has time until 31 March to utilise the remaining Rs 200 crore. Another Rs 105 crore allocated to the DU by the University Grants Commission (UGC) is also set to lapse by the end of this month.
Jha revealed that last week, DU convened an emergency EC meeting to decide on the proposal to purchase DDA flats worth Rs 150 crore. The idea was to set up administrative and hostel facilities in these flats. The EC members supported the university’s move. However, the move drew criticism from the teaching community as the proposal was made in a rush to save the funds from lapsing by the end of the month.
Not only that, the DU also missed a 15 March deadline and had to return Rs 3 crore to the University Grants Commission, which the latter had allocated to the university for buying books for its libraries. Another amount of Rs 56.7 crore earmarked for DU’s Faculty of Management Studies, South Campus, to develop itself into a “centre for excellence” will lapse on 31 March. The money was allocated 10 years ago, but the university “could not think of appropriate ways to utilise it”.
Criticising the DU administration for not utilising its funds, Rajesh Jha, said, “It is unfortunate that the university is losing such big amounts that could have been utilised for the development projects of the university. Amid much cry about funds cut by the Central government, it is disastrous that the funds already allocated to the university are going waste.”
Amid a national debate about alleged “insufficient funding of education” and poor employability of students passing out of higher educational institutes, government documents show that several Central and state universities have failed to utilise a sizable portion of their allocations, by as much as 66% in some instances. Improper communications to universities, uneven flow of funds, lack of ownership and hesitation in decision-making, are behind the problem, according to experts.