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Ludhiana: Pensioners oppose expensive vehicles for PAU officials
Take on V-C of cash-strapped university for splurging ₹39.52 lakh on two vehicles when pension disbursal is delayed every month
Pensioners of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, on Tuesday criticised vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal for spending ₹39.52 lakh on buying vehicles for the registrar and director, extension education, while their pensions are delayed every month.
Accusing the authorities the cash-strapped university of wasteful expenditure, PAU Retirees Welfare Association president Jila Ram Bansal said the university had recently acquired two Toyota Innova Hycross multi-purpose vehicles worth ₹39.52 lakh for the two officials.
To Gosal’s justification that the vehicles were bought from the university’s own funds and not from the amount meant for paying salaries and pensions, Bansal said, “We get the pension on the 10th of the month. They (the university authorities) wait for the government to send them funds before disbursing the pension. If they have so much money, why do they keep us waiting till almost the middle of the month? The government will surely pay them by 10th or 11th but if they already have the funds, why withhold our pension?” said Bansal, who retired as PAU’s estate officer in 2003.
Bansal also questioned the need for high-end vehicles for officials. “When these officers buy their own cars, they prefer the ones worth ₹8 lakh to ₹9 lakh, but when it is coming from the university they need these expensive vehicles. Why can’t they use economical cars like others?” he said.
Defending the decision, Gosal said: “Registrar Rishi Pal Singh is a former IAS officer and was a deputy commissioner before his present assignment, so he needs a vehicle befitting his stature.”
For the additional director, extension education, he said, he needs to travel to Krishi Vikas Kendras across the state and needs a reliable vehicle.
The pensioners’ allegation of wasteful expenditure comes in the backdrop of hundreds of daily-wage labourers, many of whom have been working at PAU for over a decade, demanding regularisation of services. They work as messengers and field workers for ₹9,000 a month.
The university’s poor financial state was reflected in the Punjab State Agricultural Policy draft released last September. According to it, 538 of the 1,062 sanctioned teaching posts of scientists at the PAU are vacant, accounting for 50.6% of the required strength. For the support staff, the university has a sanctioned strength of 3,723 and only 1,304 seats are filled.
The policy draft notes that in the 2023-24 fiscal, PAU needed ₹547 crore to cover salary expenses, but it received only ₹422 crore from the state government. The draft adds that if the university runs with all vacancies filled, it would need ₹1,000 crore a year to cover salary expenses alone.
According to the draft, PAU requires an additional ₹100 crore to meet expenses for research, education and extension activities. It called for a one-time grant of ₹700 crore for infrastructure, maintenance and upgrading laboratories.
