GK IMPACT | Amid outcry BGSBU VC strips retired official of administrative, financial powers

Srinagar: Vice Chancellor Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) on Monday stripped a retired official of all administrative and financial powers.

Also, the VC BGSBU Prof Akbar Masood has also ordered an administrative reshuffle in the varsity to end the alleged monopoly of the officers in the administration.

As per an order issued by the Registrar BGSBU, the Dean Academic Affairs Prof Iqbal Parvez “is entrusted with only academic matters with no obligation to discharge any statutory financial or administrative duties.”

Besides, the varsity has also ordered that the committee constituted on January 25 of 2023 shall also deliberate upon the cases of career Advancement and promotion of non-teaching staff of the university.

Earlier, Greater Kashmir reported about the continuation of 70-year-old Prof. Parvez Iqbal as Dean Academic Affairs who has retired in 2018.

Notably, there was a hue and cry in the varsity during the past few weeks as the teaching faculty and non-teaching staff had staged prolonged peaceful protests demanding  redressal of their long-pending demands.

The demands included, primarily, implementation of Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for teachers which according to them was pending for several years and removal of retired officers aged above 70 years, holding administrative positions (like Dean Academic Affairs) taking full salaries in complete violation of UGC regulations.

The other demands included an administrative reshuffle to end ‘monopoly of a few influential officials’ at the helm, speedy disposal of files as per the J&K Public Services Guarantees Act, 2011, completion of stalled work on infrastructure projects, streamlining of extramural projects.

The Greater Kashmir earlier reported that a special audit report of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir pertaining to Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, has pointed out large-scale financial irregularities in the centrally-sponsored Rs 12 crore TEQIP-III project.

The audit report has stated that the project is being executed under the direct supervision and Coordinatorship of Dean Academic Affairs, Prof Iqbal Pervez, a retired employee since 2018 in violation of rules.

The Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQUP-III) is being implemented by the University as a central sector scheme receiving 100 percent funding from Government of India and targets “sustaining excellence in engineering education and widening impact through competitively selected institutions in non-low income states and special category states.”

Also, there was a hue and cry over illegal and extra salary drawn by an official of the University for the last 11 years.

The Chief Pay and Accounts Officer (CPOA) of the University in one of the reports has raised the query about extra and illegal charges being received the University official, working as Special Secretary to VC BGSBU.

“The allowances of 10 percent extra salary amounting to Rs 20000 per month is totally against the norms,” the officer had reported. However, the allowance was stopped following a query of CPAO, however no recovery was made from the officer.

The University faculty has demanded recovery of one time withdrawal of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 27 lakh extra salary which the university officer has withdrawn from the government exchequer from 2012.

Meanwhile the VC BGSBU on Monday ordered an administrative reshuffle in which the incumbent Special Secretary to VC, Suneet Gupta has been transferred and given assignment of in-charge camp offices, OSD Nursing Colleges. “The receipt and dispatch section of the Vice Chancellor will submit all the files and Dak directly to the VC,” the order reads.