Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) had to postpone its 22nd and 23rd combined convocation scheduled for December 8 due to the standoff with employees over the transfer of its bank deposits amounting to ₹400 crore to the government through A.P. State Financial Services Corporation Limited (AP-SFSCL) allegedly without due compliance with the mandatory bidding process.
The fund transfer order was issued by Vice-Chancellor Dr. P. Syama Prasad on December 2 and the remittance was made the next day. A request has since been made to the government by NTRUHS to give back ₹175 crore immediately to enable it to meet the basic expenditure of ₹100 crore and ₹25 crore each to provide for the employees, pension, gratuity and welfare funds in 2022-23.
According to a senior official, the government was asked to part with only surplus funds but the V-C had no time to think over it and gave his nod to transfer the entire amount. Moreover, there was no clear projection by the employee unions on minimum funds which the varsity needed to have at its disposal.
“When the government itself is asking for funds and issued a facilitating G.O. (Rt. No. 1998 dated November 25, 2021), obviously there will be pressure. After all that has happened, I am doubtful whether the government will concede our appeal for the return of ₹175 crore,” the NTRUHS official told The Hindu .
A leader of NTRUHS employees’ JAC said initially 5% interest was promised and it was later changed to 5.5% and yet another government company (AP Power Finance Corporation Limited) offered 6%.
‘Oversight’
It remains to be seen whether the ₹175 crore which the NTRUHS wanted to be returned in order to meet its expenses would be given back and interest paid on the balance at least on par with six nationalised banks in which it parks its funds, the JAC leader said while indicating that transferring the entire ₹400 crore was an oversight.
Meanwhile, MLC K.S. Lakshman Rao met the JAC leaders, who were continuing their protest, at the NTRUHS on Monday and assured them that he would put in a word with Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy to sort out the issue.
