AU steps to set right financial mess

Investment panel formed, VC’s nod a must for expenses

EFFORTS HAVE finally begun to set right the financial mess prevailing in Allahabad University (AU).

The AU Vice-Chancellor has formed a five-member Investment Committee under the head of the Psychology department Prof Janak Pandey to streamline the varsity accounts while AU's new Finance Officer (FO) S Parabramaiah has instructed all the University departments to henceforth procure prior sanction of the Vice-Chancellor before spending any money irrespective of its source.

The departments have also been asked by the FO to get their account books audited to help the varsity prepare the annual financial report that is to be forwarded to the University Grants Commission (UGC) as per the Centre's rules that are now in force in the university.

Though the Investment Committee is yet to hold its first meeting, sources say, it will primarily deal with doing away with multiple accounts being maintained by each department which over the years have become difficult to monitor.

The committee will also recommend steps that will help AU keep tab on all accounts all the year around and also aid it in a systematic record keeping.

The first order of the FO, sources say, reached the AU departments around 10 days back informing all the heads that from now it is being made mandatory for them to get prior approval of the Vice-Chancellor Prof Rajen Harshe before they spend any money of the department irrespective of its source.

Though widely being believed as a step to curtail the wastage of departmental funds and avoiding getting unfavourable reports during the annual audit by the auditors, the letter has managed to anger many a teacher who feel that it would only result in delays and chaos in day-to-day functioning of the department.

"Now we would have to first write to the VC and wait for his approval before even routine things that required spending some money.

This would even cause problem in inviting a teacher to deliver a lecture unless the VC's permission is obtained beforehand," complained a head of the department of the Arts Faculty.

Another head of the department, not wishing to be named, said that the new order goes against the very spirit of decentralisation being encouraged by the UGC and the Union Government in almost all departments.

Another initiative taken by the FO to set the accounts books of the varsity in order is asking the departments to get their books audited by personnel of the accounts department of the varsity.

In a letter dated August 18, 2006, the FO has informed all the heads of the departments that now that AU is a Central university, details of financial transactions have to be forwarded to the UGC failing which the Central body has the power to stop grants.

The letter informs that keeping this in mind, the varsity has begun work on preparing the annual financial datasheet as per the VC's order dated August 12, 2006.

Details of all funds received from various funding bodies for researches and courses be it UGC, CSIR, DST, DBT or other, as well as all professional courses have to be now provided by various AU departments for the task ahead. Besides specifying the names of personnel deputed for auditing of the account books, the letter also has a format attached with it on the basis of which the information is to be provided by all the HoDs.

The nine-column format sheet requires details like names of the department, the project, the coordinator, the funding body, the bank, the bank account number, balance as on March 31, 2006 and balance as on July 31, 2006 to be supplied by each department of AU.