Guwahati: The NEHUTA, NEHUSU, and NEHUNSA have urged Acting Vice Chancellor Nirmalendu Saha to withhold the salaries of VC Prabha Shankar Shukla, the Registrar, and the Deputy Registrar starting from March.
At the same time, the university’s three statutory bodies threatened to take two days of earned leave (EL) if the university did not withhold the salaries of the trio. They stated they would use the leave to travel to Delhi for personal matters, work remotely, and return to campus at their discretion.
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“We will encourage all NEHUTA and NEHUNSA members to take EL for a few days, travel as they wish, and participate virtually under some pretext without coming to campus, while continuing to receive their salaries indefinitely,” the bodies said in a letter addressed to Prof. Saha on March 13.
The associations questioned why the acting VC would relax central rules for the VC, Registrar, and Deputy Registrar, suggesting that if the acting VC allowed such relaxation, faculty and non-teaching staff should receive the same benefit.
“You cannot violate our fundamental rights, particularly the right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution of India,” the groups stated.
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They also stated that NEHU officials should not send any files, including soft copies, to the VC while he is on leave, and they should not accept any unauthorized orders from him on the Shillong and Tura campuses.
“All official correspondence must go through the office of the Registrar in charge,” the bodies declared.
The associations pointed out that the VC started his earned leave on November 15, 2024, based on the advice of the Director of Higher Education, Government of India, and extended it until March 2. He has not reported to the NEHU headquarters in Shillong since.
They noted that this absence amounted to 130 days of continuous leave.
The groups further claimed that Prof. Shukla had exhausted all his earned leave at NEHU before he “absconded” from campus on November 1, 2024.
The associations wrote, “In this situation, we must invoke various rules and provisions under the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 to take immediate and appropriate action against government servants who are absent from duty without prior leave or who have overstayed their authorized leave periods.”
They added that the concerned ministry has stated that such unauthorized absences warrant immediate and strict action according to the rules.
The associations requested the Acting VC to enforce the relevant provisions of the CCS (Leave) Rules, stating that an officer absent without authorization is not entitled to pay or allowances during the period of absence.
“Additionally, we request you to initiate disciplinary action against Prof. Shukla under the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965. They stated that NEHU should take similar actions against Registrar Omkar Singh and Deputy Registrar Amit Gupta, who have also been on unauthorized leave and have not reported to the NEHU headquarters in Shillong for 130 consecutive days.
The associations noted that both Singh and Gupta had exhausted all their earned leave.
“You are currently performing the duties of the Vice Chancellor, as per Statute 2(A)S(i) under the NEHU Act, as the senior-most professor in the absence of the VC,” the bodies stated.
In addition, they demanded that NEHU prevent the misuse of its guesthouses in Shillong, Tura, and Guwahati by the VC on leave.
“Prof. Shukla must pay the standard guesthouse rate from his personal funds and not misuse NEHU’s limited resources. All his travel expenses must be covered by him personally,” they added.
The statutory bodies urged the NEHU administration to strictly adhere to the NEHU Act, statutes, ordinances, and regulations, as well as the Government of India rules, to avoid creating chaos on the Shillong and Tura campuses.