Mumbai University VC under scanner for owning expensive car

Suhas Pednekar

AMID chaos over reopening of colleges, the Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, Suhas Pednekar, has come under the scanner for a different controversy altogether. It is about his car allegedly costing more than the limits prescribed for his pay grade by the state government. A senate member from Yuva Sena has sent a complaint letter to the state government seeking inquiry in the case, stating that it is misuse of the funds of the varsity.

As per the complaint letter, the bracket of officers which covers VC is allowed to spend maximum Rs 12 lakh for a vehicle, according to the regulations. But, the car that the VC is allegedly currently using, is priced way higher (Rs 60 lakh). Yuva Sena Senate member Shashikant Zore has written a complaint letter regarding this to Maharashtra government's higher and technical education department. According to the complainant, it is violation of regulations regarding purchase of vehicles for different levels of government officers. The complainant has also attached the concerned GR with the letter. "Not only is it violation of the regulations, it is also misappropriation of funds. Even as Mumbai University is an autonomous body, it is a state institution and a major part of the funds come from fees charged to students. The concerned authorities in this case should provide an explanation and the additional amount should be taken from the salaries of the officers," said Zore.

Vaibhav Thorat, another senate member, who had raised the complaint earlier, said, "Then I was given an unsatisfactory response. I was told that because of varsity's huge jurisdiction, the VC requires a safe vehicle to travel to faraway places. But that doesn't answer the question of how it justifies going beyond permissible limits of expenditure."

mid-day reached out to the MU PRO, but didn't receive a response till the time of going to press.