CUJ floated tenders of Rs 486 cr against allocation of Rs 322 cr

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 3

The administration of the Central University of Jammu (CUJ) today admitted that it had floated tenders for projects worth Rs 486 crore against the financial allocation of Rs 322 crore in 2013, leading to a financial mess. This forced the University Grants Commission (UGC) to stop giving funds to the university for development activities.

The university admitted that it figured in the list of “non-performing” universities of the country because it lagged behind in infrastructural development and no permanent academic block or classrooms had been constructed for students even after six years.

What is more ironical is that the university spent the funds meant for the creation of classrooms and academic blocks on “non-prioritised” areas, including the construction of water bodies, roads and a building of the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE).

According to university officials, the original budget estimate for establishing the university campus at Bagla village was Rs 690 crore which was revised to Rs 1,087.72 crore. The university was granted funds amounting to Rs 322 crore but it floated tenders worth Rs 486 crore in 2013 that led to a deficit of Rs 164 crore. Due to the financial mess, the UGC stopped funding.

“We are behind schedule with regard to infrastructure development. The government allocated funds for development activities but we still don’t have classrooms. Funds were spent on non-prioritised areas,” said Ravi Kumar, Registrar of CUJ, in an interaction with mediapersons here.

Without naming preceding officials, the Registrar said, “The university statutes do not talk about distance education but a building still has been constructed. The first priority could have been academics and classrooms. We are forced to take classes in residential quarters. Six departments are being run from hired accommodation,” he said.

Flanked by senior faculty members of the university, the Registrar said they took the challenges and started classes to ensure that the academic year of students did not go waste. “We started the shifting of departments in 2015 when only two departments were shifted to Bagla village in Raya Suchani area of Samba district. We have been able to shift 15 departments despite resource crunch and other logistic issues,” Kumar said.

Shortage of faculty

The Registrar said senior academicians were reluctant to join the CUJ because they have certain reservations.

“We face an acute shortage of associate professors and professors. We have only one regular professor in the university. A senior professor, who comes under the old pension rule, does not carry pension under the new pension scheme if he or she joins the university now. They have a different perception for J&K. They don’t distinguish between Kashmir and Jammu. Moreover, the varsity campus, which is located 25 km from Jammu city, is without sufficient public transport. There is no medical or education facility available in the hinterland of the university, which discourages them to come forward,” he maintained.

Expenditure on non-priority works

The university spent the funds meant for the creation of classrooms and  academic blocks on “non-prioritised” areas, including the construction of water bodies, roads and a building of the Directorate of Distance Education.