Alleged misappropriation of Rs 1.55 crore from the fund of the Sambalpur University (SU) during the tenure of its former Vice-Chancellor has come to light during an audit conducted recently in the SUIT (Sambalpur University Information Technology) Department.
It has been alleged that the university authorities showed undue favour to the contractor in charge of the construction works in the SUIT.
There has been mention of very strong comments in the audit report that also speaks of the honesty and integrity of the persons in charge of the entire process from planning to construction and payment of money thereafter.
As per information, the university’s syndicate had approved Rs 17.5 crore for construction of the building for the IT Department and a hostel for its students. A Bhubaneswar-based construction firm, Space Arc Architect, was assigned the job of construction.
After completion of the two works, the concerned firm got the payment from the university with due approval of the VC. But the audit has unearthed irregularities and pointed out that an extra amount of Rs 1.55 crore has been paid to the concerned firm.
This amount is more than the legitimate dues of the executing firm, as mentioned in the audit report. Even the original tender documents were manipulated to benefit the firm, the report has said. It has been further mentioned in the audit report that a lot of compromises were made in the quality of the works.
More surprisingly, an engineer appointed by the executing firm was supervising the construction works instead of the university’s own engineering department, the audit report has stated. After the audit report came to light, there have been sharp reactions everywhere, particularly among the intelligentsia mass.
Syndicate member Durga Padhee and Senate member Arun Kumar have urged the Registrar of the university to discuss the issue on a priority basis at the next Syndicate meeting to be held on June 7.