Shillong, Feb 13: The NEHUTA has demanded the removal of NEHU’s Tura campus in-charge Prof Sujata Gurudev and retendering of construction works there.
A delegation of NEHUTA met acting Vice Chancellor Prof Nirmalendu Saha on Thursday and submitted a memorandum to him.
Later, NEHUTA president Lakhon Kma said the meeting with Prof Saha was very fruitful. He said the acting VC agreed to take immediate actions on almost all the demands.
In the memorandum, the NEHUTA president said, “Since we have lost faith in her (Prof Sujata Gurudev), we demand her immediate removal from the post of Tura Campus In-charge in the interest of NEHU.”
“Prof Gurudev is occupying the unstatutory and arbitrary post of campus Director, was complicit in the clandestine handing over of the Tura campus development works to Manipur Tribal Development Corporation Ltd for tendering, bypassing the Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) in violation of General Financial Rules,” he said.
He alleged that there were serious procedural flaws in the entire process.
“We request that these works should be retendered in compliance with the General Financial Rules immediately,” he said, demanding that the digital signature in the CPPP, which is currently in NEHU Registrar Omkar Singh’s name, be changed immediately in the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Kma further stated that during their executive committee meeting held recently, they had discussed several pending issues related to teachers and the overall functioning of the university. He mentioned that the School of Social Sciences has been without a regular Dean for over a year. Pointing out that a former Dean, who is a professor, was reappointed in an interim capacity until further orders, the NEHUTA president said they are strongly against this reappointment as more than 20 professors are qualified for the role and waiting for their turn.
“We kindly request that a regular Dean be appointed following the principle of rotation according to seniority immediately,” he said.
Kma said the conduct of CAS (Career Advancement Scheme) for the promotion from Stage 5 to Stage 6 has been inordinately delayed for several years, resulting in many teachers retiring without receiving their due promotion. The NEHUTA demanded that the CAS for promotions from Stage 5 to Stage 6 be conducted immediately.
“Since the procedure for CAS promotion from Stage 1 to Stage 2 and Stage 2 to Stage 3 do not require Selection Committee, promotion for these stages should also be done immediately,” Kma said.
He further stressed that CAS promotion for Stage 3 to Stage 4 & Stage 4 to Stage 5 should also be initiated without any further delay as CAS is a routine matter and it is supposed to be conducted every six months.
Moreover, he said it has come to NEHUTA’s attention that the Guest House Management Committee has been rendered non-functional for years. The guest houses are being run by officials without the supervision of the committee, he said.
“We, therefore, request that a new committee be constituted, with a professor serving as the chairperson, to oversee its proper functioning. Further, no employees, teaching or non-teaching, should be allowed to stay in our Guest Houses regularly on official rate,” the NEHUTA president said.
Meanwhile, he said it has been brought to their notice that the current Building Committee has the VC as the chairperson.
He said the composition of this committee, with the VC as its chairperson, raises concerns about transparency, as the same individual will also chair the Executive Council, a statutory body responsible for approving the recommendations of the Building Committee.
In light of this, the NEHUTA demanded the reconstitution of the Building Committee with a senior professor as the chairperson, stating that this was the convention during NEHU’s glorious times in not-so-distant past.
Kma further stated that the Transport Committee needs to be reconstituted because its chairperson is the Registrar who is not supposed to chair any committee where there are professors as members.
The NEHUTA objected the composition of this committee and urged that a professor be appointed as its chairperson to ensure its independent and effective functioning without any bias.
He said they have received multiple complaints about the poor condition of faculty quarters, with no repair work having been undertaken for several years resulting in delay in the occupation of the quarters.
“We request that you direct the Campus Development Department to inspect the quarters and initiate the required repair work immediately,” the NEHUTA wrote in the memorandum.
Kma said they are aware that as the Executive Council meeting has not been held in the last three months, it affected all construction, repair work and other important activities of the university.
The NEHUTA insisted on the conduct of the meeting of the Executive Council immediately. It said the Executive Council meetings should be held as and when required so the university does not appear handicapped in its functioning.
Meanwhile, citing that the term of the current honorary Director of the North Eastern Regional Centre of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR NERC) has already been completed, Kma demanded that a professor be recommended for the post so that he can be appointed immediately.
“We trust that you will give immediate attention to above mentioned matters and take the necessary actions so that it can be accomplished in a time-bound manner,” the NEHUTA president said adding that they are confident that these issues will be addressed in the best interest of all concerned as soon as possible.
