Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Jan 21: Anti-Corruption Bureau has initiated probe into alleged financial irregularities in Central University of Jammu (CUJ) during the last five years.
Official sources told the Excelsior the investigation has been assigned to a DySP rank officer in the ACB after a formal complaint about alleged irregularities was considered for taking cognizance and open verification.
In connection with the probe, sources added, the CUJ administration has been asked to furnish the relevant official records pertaining to utilization of Central Government funds and payments made to the contractors.
Sources further explained that the ACB investigation is initially focused on specific complaint of alleged financial irregularities committed by the university during the tenure of incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ashok Aima. The scope of investigations may be broadened if more cases of apparent irregularities are detected during the verification of records or supplement complaints are received, sources added.
While elaborating, sources said that the ACB investigation is mainly focused on alleged corruption in payments made to the contractors, particularly to a Ghaziabad based company, which was engaged for electrical works and had to build seven electrical substations and lay down the cable along the roads besides erecting the electrical poles.
Even as the firm did not make even one electrical substation operational and there was delay in completion of works to the extent of 300 percent time, about 100 kms of HT/LT cable worth Rs 15.62 crore was purchased in bulk at site by the contractor against the agreement signed with the University and 60 percent (Rs 9.6 crores) payment was released by the CUJ. Despite huge expenditure, there was no activity by the agency on site since February 2016. As the contractor insisted for the release of the rest of the payment, the university referred the matter to its Standing Counsel for a legal opinion. Even as the legal opinion was against the release of the payment in absence of corresponding civil works and HT/LT cable laying, the university again released a payment of Rs two crores to the contractor as revolving fund through PMC EPIL during February 2017.
Besides the legal opinion against release of payment, sources said that the University Executive Engineer and Incharge Finance Officer had also not signed the document for release of the payment and thereby, the university committed a grave financial irregularity for the reasons best known to the persons at the helm of affairs.
Sources said that ACB is also looking into the complaint of alleged amassing of enormous wealth by the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, disproportionate to his known sources of income and manipulation of Reservation Roster in violation of UGC guidelines.
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