Guwahati: The Student Federation of India (SFI)’s Assam State Committee has levelled serious allegations of financial irregularities in the utilization of a special grant from the Assam government to Gauhati University.
The students’ body has linked the name of Vice-Chancellor Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta to the alleged financial discrepancies and has demanded a high-level investigation into the matter.
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Addressing a press conference at the Guwahati Press Club on Monday, SFI leaders Rajdeep Mahanta and Arun Guria alleged that the South East Asian Study Centre, under the Department of Political Science, has been receiving an annual Rs 1 crore grant from the Assam government for several years.
However, they claimed that these funds were misappropriated, bypassing university financial regulations, and diverted through non-transparent means.
According to SFI, the grant was improperly deposited into the university’s Examination Account instead of the designated Project Account, raising concerns about deliberate financial misconduct.
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They alleged that the university’s audit department had raised serious concerns regarding these financial practices, but alleged collusion among officials prevented any corrective action.
Stating that the examination account was used to evade scrutiny, the SFI leaders said the Rs 1 crore grant sanctioned in 2016-17 (Sanction No. PMA(H) 168/2016/32 dated 07.03.2017) was received by GU Receipt No. 8557 dated 31.03.2017 and was deposited into the Examination Account (A/C No. 10243124298) instead of the project account.
“Because examination accounts are not audited,” they said, adding that this transfer was intentional, as Examination Accounts are not subjected to audits, ensuring secrecy in financial transactions.
The SFI also pointed out discrepancies in fund movement. “On October 23, 2017, Rs 1 crore was transferred from the university’s Corpus Fund to the South East Asian Study Centre, raising a crucial question: if the money was originally deposited into the Examination Account, how was it later transferred from the Corpus Fund?” they questioned.
“There is no financial record showing that Rs 1 crore was transferred from the Examination Account to the Corpus Fund, leading to suspicions that funds were either misappropriated or laundered through unaccounted channels,” the SFI leaders said.
SFI leaders further accused the university of violating standard financial procedures, stating that the examination account is a current account, while project or corpus funds are required to be kept in a savings account.
“Keeping funds in a non-interest-bearing current account leads to financial losses and weakens the university’s financial stability,” they said.
The SFI alleged that similar financial mismanagement has continued in subsequent years, indicating a larger financial scam within the university.
“Since Vice-Chancellor Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta serves as the Director of the South East Asian Study Centre, SFI has demanded a direct explanation from him regarding these alleged financial discrepancies,” they said.
The student body has called for immediate intervention by the Chancellor (Governor of Assam) and the Assam government, a high-level investigation into the financial mismanagement, and accountability for those responsible for fund misappropriation.
“We cannot allow corruption to thrive in Gauhati University. The administration must provide clear answers about these financial irregularities. The Governor and Assam government must intervene immediately,” SFI leaders added.