Mysore/Mysuru: Announcing that the University of Mysore (UoM) will soon get Cauvery river water for drinking purpose, Vice-Chancellor Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar said that the Varsity will take necessary measures in this regard.  Prof. Hemantha Kumar was chairing the Fourth Academic Council Meeting at Vijnana Bhavan in Manasagangothri campus here yesterday.

At the meeting, Faculty of Arts Prof. Muzaffar Assadi and faculty of Science H.T. Basavarajappa raised the water scarcity issue, when Prof. Hemantha Kumar said that the Varsity campus was located on 800 acres of land and it has 17 borewells. Noting that only eight of them have good water fit for drinking, he attributed the water scarcity was high in Hostels as number of students has increased to over 4,000 as compared to 1,500 in the 1990s.

Maintaining that he has spoken to Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL) authorities with regard to supply of Cauvery water to UoM campus, the VC said that the Varsity has paid Rs.1 crore as advance out of the Rs. 3 crore needed for water supply.  Pointing out that the CNNL has assured of supplying 25 percent of the Varsity’s water needs from a water supply unit near to the campus, he said that the Varsity hopes to get two lakh litres of water per day when the project is completed in a year. He has also discussed the matter with the MCC authorities, Prof. Hemantha Kumar added.

Highlighting the measures taken by the University for water harvesting, the VC said that this has helped the Varsity in maintenance of greenery in the campus.

Academic Council member M.P. Shashikumar asked the Varsity authorities to promote solar energy to cut electricity bills. Noting that the Varsity has earmarked Rs. 4.5 lakh in the budget for payment of electricity bills, he observed that tapping solar energy will help in bringing down electricity bills.

Prof. Hemantha Kumar said that two branches of the University are fully solarised and solar power will be extended to all branches in a phased manner.

UoM presents Rs.8.47 crore surplus budget

The University of Mysore also presented its budget (2022-23) at the Academic Council Meeting. The budget with a surplus of Rs. 8.47 crore, projected revenue at Rs. 393.84 crore as against the expenditure of Rs. 385.57 crore, leading to the surplus.

UoM Finance officer Dr. Sangeetha Gajanana Bhat, who presented the budget, said that a block grant of Rs. 221.75 crore was expected from the State Government towards payment of salaries and pensions to the staff. In addition to the block grant, which accounts for 44 percent of the revenue, the University gets an income of Rs. 40 crore in the form of admission, registration and affiliation fees and another Rs. 52 crore as examination fee. The UoM also gets Rs. 4 crore out of its properties, Rs. 4.5 crore from Scheme-B (self-finance) courses and Rs. 4 crore from miscellaneous receipts, she said.

Pointing out that the University incurs an expenditure of Rs. 121.75 crore towards pay and allowances for staff and also incurs an expenditure of Rs. 50 crore towards payment of pensions to retired employees, Dr. Sangeetha Bhat said that the number of University pensioners will increase from the current 1,761 to 1,821 this year. The varsity needs Rs. 106 crore for pension in the present academic year, she added.

Mandya MLA M. Srinivas and MLC Veena Achaiah, who are also Academic Council members, Registrar Prof. R. Shivappa, Registrar (Evaluation) Prof. A.P. Jnanaprakash, PMEB (Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Board) Director Prof. N.K. Loknath and others were present.