Meghalaya: NEHUTA accuses NEHU VC of corruption, demands immediate removal

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: The North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) has levelled explosive allegations of corruption against Vice-Chancellor Prof. P.S. Shukla, accusing him of misusing his office to extend undue favours to the Manipur Tribal Development Corporation (MTDC) in violation of statutory norms and government procedures. The Association claims that even before the controversial attempt to allot a ?98 crore project of the Ministry of Minority Affairs at NEHU’s Tura campus to MTDC, Prof. Shukla had already “misused his official position for personal gains by favouring MTDC in the early part of 2024.”

NEHUTA in a statement detailed how on March 6, 2024, an MoU was signed between NEHU and MTDC without the approval of the Building Committee, Finance Committee or Executive Council, yet within ten days a work order worth Rs 82 lakh was issued to MTDC. The Association pointed out that despite the Tura Campus Director having financial powers limited to just Rs 5 lakh, an Rs 82 lakh work order was sanctioned, and “on 30.03.2024, the Campus Director approved the sanction order of Rs 82 lakh to MTDC, which was duly approved by Prof. Shukla on the NEHU note sheet on 30.03.2024 itself.” NEHUTA further questioned how payment was cleared in just 15 days without completion of work, why the mandatory tender process was bypassed, and why NEHU Shillong’s Campus Development Department was sidelined altogether.

The Association alleged that the same modus operandi was followed when Prof. Shukla attempted to allot a Rs 98 crore project to MTDC “without the approval of the Finance Committee and the Executive Council, which is mandatory,” and without floating a tender on the Central Public Procurement Portal. It said, “NEHUTA is sure that he will try to manipulate again in favour of MTDC or other agencies given a choice, bypassing the CPP portal and manipulating all statutory bodies of NEHU, but we believe that he will not succeed in his nefarious design.”

Condemning what it described as “acts of corruption and misuse of office indicating quid pro quo between him and the MTDC”, NEHUTA said it would apprise President Droupadi Murmu and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the matter and urged the Ministry “to remove Prof. P.S. Shukla immediately”.

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