By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 21: The North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) has called upon the Ministry of Education to immediately remove Vice Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla, accusing him of serious acts of corruption and misuse of office to benefit the Manipur Tribal Development Corporation (MTDC).
In a statement issued on Sunday, NEHUTA president Lakhon Kma alleged that Prof. Shukla had favoured MTDC in the early part of 2024, even attempting to allocate Rs 98 crore project of the Ministry of Minority Affairs meant for NEHU’s Tura campus to the Manipur government PSU.
To substantiate the allegations, NEHUTA pointed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between NEHU and MTDC on March 6, 2024, by the then Registrar Omkar Singh.
Barely 10 days later, on March 16, the Tura Campus Director issued a work order worth Rs 82 lakh to MTDC for road carpeting, citing the MoU. The costing details and letter of confirmation were provided by MTDC the same day.
Kma said this was done despite the fact that the MoU had not been approved by NEHU’s Building Committee, Finance Committee or Executive Council. On March 28, MTDC undertook to complete the work by March 31, but submitted its bills on March 30. That same day, the Campus Director approved the sanction order, and Prof. Shukla signed off on the release of Rs 82 lakh on NEHU’s official note sheet.
“Only 15 days after awarding the work, the Vice Chancellor approved the release of the entire amount. Later, MTDC requested additional time to finish the project,” Kma said, questioning the haste with which the approvals were granted.
NEHUTA further pointed out irregularities, including the fact that the Tura Campus Director’s financial authority was limited to Rs 5 lakh, yet a work order of Rs 82 lakh was issued. It also questioned whether tenders were invited as per rules, whether they were uploaded on the official website, and how the process could have been completed in such a short span.
“Why was the Campus Development Department in Shillong completely bypassed? How was such a large payment approved by the VC without the work being completed?” Kma asked.
The association alleged that after the Rs 82 lakh allotment, Prof. Shukla went on to approve the Rs 98 crore project to MTDC without mandatory approval from NEHU’s statutory bodies and without floating a tender on the Central Public Procurement (CPP) Portal.
The Building Committee minutes were unsigned, and no Executive Council meeting was held before Prof. Shukla left Shillong in November 2024 amid agitation by students.
According to NEHUTA, these actions clearly showed attempts to bypass statutory procedures and favour MTDC.
“Prof. Shukla’s acts of omission and commission in the Rs 82 lakh case are evident. Similarly, in the Rs 98 crore case, he sought to ignore all mandatory procedures but failed due to students’ protests,” the statement said.
The association warned that Prof. Shukla, if given the opportunity, might again try to manipulate processes in favour of MTDC or other agencies.
NEHUTA said it would appraise the President of India and Visitor of NEHU, Droupadi Murmu, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the matter for necessary intervention.
“NEHUTA unequivocally condemns these acts of corruption by Prof. Shukla and the misuse of his office, which indicate a quid pro quo between him and MTDC,” Kma said, adding that while the association is committed to the development of NEHU’s campuses, it cannot accept projects executed through corrupt practices.
