HPU council approves Rs 24.76 cr deficit budget

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 31

The executive council (EC) of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) today approved Rs Rs 24.76 crore deficit budget for 2015-16, but did not take any decision on vexed issue of roll back of fee hike.

The annual budget outlay will be Rs 155.24 crore while the total domestic receipts are estimated at Rs 130.48 crore, which included the budgetary support of Rs 79 crore from the government and Rs 51.48 crore will be collected from domestic receipts.

The government had constituted a high-level committee headed by former High Court Judge VK Sharma to go into the entire gamut of fee-hike issue and it submitted the report in the end of October 2014.

However, the government has neither made the report public, nor taken any decision on its recommendations.

The EC meeting was presided over by Vice-Chancellor Prof ADN Bajpai. He approved installation of bio-metric machines on the campus, conducting entrance test for MBA, MCA courses and also gave a nod to create two seats for Jammu and Kashmir residents in each department.

New rules for affiliating colleges and institutions and recommendations of the finance committee meeting held on February 18, 2015, were also approved.

The EC also decided to rename the UGC-Academic Staff College as UGC-Human Resource Development Centre and also approved the provision of conducting exam for undergraduate classes of those students of NSS who represents the state in the Republic Day Parade Camp etc. on the pattern of facility being given to NCC cadets.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Rajinder Singh Chauhan, Registrar Prof Mohan Jharta, Rajesh Sharma, Special Secretary Finance and non-official EC member Harish Janartha, Chander Shekhar and Bambar Thaku were also present at the meeting.