Documents pertaining to construction works worth Rs. 120 crore  missing; Committee says Rs. 14 crore has been misused

Mysuru  – The Audit Committee of Karnataka Legislature has unearthed a major scam in the University of Mysore (UoM) where documents to support the expenditure of a government grant of Rs. 120 crore is missing. At a meeting of the Committee headed by MLA S.R. Mahesh, it was discovered that the files and documents pertaining to that government grant were missing.

The members of the Committee included MLAs D.G. Shanthanagouda, Muniraju, Raghu Achar, MLC Ravi Patil, Higher Education Department Principal Secretary Javid Akhtar, Joint Secretary Mallappa Kalaiah and Mayor M.J. Ravikumar.

They audited the accounts along with University Registrar Prof. R. Rajanna, Evaluation Registrar Prof. J. Somashekar and Finance Officer Prof. B. Mahadevappa.

The meeting was held at the Council Hall of Crawford Hall yesterday to audit the accounts of the University of Mysore. The Committee will later submit a report to the Karnataka Assembly.

The Committee also unearthed a Rs. 14 crore scam in the Varsity and asked the authorities to produce the documents for Rs. 120 crore spent on various works from 1989. When the authorities failed to produce the documents, the committee members charged at them.

MLA S.R. Mahesh said that the authorities had failed to initiate legal action against those involved in the irregularities. According to the Committee members, the authorities have misused Rs. 14 crore funds allotted for various works from 1989.

Though the documents available expose the irregularities, the authorities have failed to initiate action against violators, he said. As per the documents, the authorities paid the contractors well before the stipulated time while some other contractors received excess payment too, Mahesh said.

He said the UoM authorities have failed to submit documents for Rs. 120 crore spent on various works from 1989. However the UoM authorities claimed that no documents are available for the works pertaining to the said money. The Committee members warned the authorities of legal action if they fail to furnish the documents within three months.

The Committee members also pointed out that Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) authorities had not recovered the money spent for purchasing stationery, in violation of norms.

According to members, Rs. 8 crore was misused and the authorities have recovered only Rs. 4 crore so far. “Though the cost of a marks card is Rs. 2.50, the authorities have paid Rs. 36 per card. The authorities have also procured 18 lakh mark sheets whereas the requirement was for only one lakh. The Committee members warned the authorities to recover the remaining Rs. 4 crore with interest within three months.