Dissatisfied with the estimates prepared by Madurai Kamaraj University for the projects proposed for execution under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the Finance Committee of MKU asked the university officials to get the estimates for all civil works scrutinised by the Chief Engineer of Public Works Department in Madurai.
The instruction was provided during the Finance Committee meeting chaired by Higher Education Secretary Sunil Paliwal in Chennai on March 24, 2017, documents accessed by The Hindu had revealed. The committee also said that all proposals in future would be verified by the Chief Engineer of PWD.
The revelation come in the wake of allegations of irregularities in the utilization of around ₹10 crore allocated to the university under RUSA scheme, funded by the Ministry of Human Resources Development for infrastructure development in institutes of higher learning.
According to sources privy to the meeting, estimates prepared by the small team of officials from MKU, who are handling the RUSA project, were criticised in the Finance Committee meeting for non-adherence to procedures and lack of convincing explanation for the estimated cost.
The civil works presently to be carried out by the university included formation of a 400 metre athletic track at a cost of around ₹30 lakh, rainwater harvesting structure in university buildings at a cost of around ₹1 crore, construction of a compound wall at a cost of around ₹35 lakh and modernisation of hostel kitchens at a cost of around ₹75 lakh.
Apart from the civil works, the documents accessed by The Hindu showed that the Finance Committee deferred its approval for issuing procurement orders for three projects, viz. setting up of wi-fi connectivity across the campus at a cost of ₹2.98 crore, hardware installation for implementing e-Governance systems at a cost of ₹1.46 crore and automation works in the library at a cost of around ₹40 lakh.
The Finance Committee directed MKU officials to submit details and all the facts, including justification for the estimates and decision for procurement, in the next committee meeting.
When contacted, senior officials in the university, however, denied any irregularities in the RUSA projects. A senior official said that concurrence was sought from Chief Engineer of PWD for the civil works only because the university presently did not have an engineer.
Even with other projects, the official said that the Finance Committee had just asked for a comprehensive and concise report since they found the details submitted by the university to be cumbersome.
