E-Paper
Honorarium row: 3 office-bearers get show-cause notice for ‘damaging LU’s reputation’
The trio had recently written to the chief minister, highlighting alleged misuse of university’s finances in the form of “exorbitant honorarium” to members of the research award-giving committee
LUCKNOW The Lucknow University administration on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to three office-bearers of Lucknow University Teachers’ Association (LUTA) for allegedly “damaging the institution’s reputation.” The trio had recently written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, highlighting the alleged misuse of the university’s finances in the form of “exorbitant honorarium” to the members of the research award-giving committee.
Those who recieved the notice included Arshad Ali Jafri (Arabic-Persian department), Chandki Ram Gautam (physics department) and Monisha Banerjee (zoology department).
In the letter sent by the teachers to the CM, it was alleged that approximately 50 to 60 teachers and researchers collectively get up to ₹75,000 in prize money every year. However, the award-giving committee, comprising the V-C, finance officer, registrar and others, collectively receives honorariums ranging up to ₹7.5 lakh, which is against rules and the spirit of the award scheme, stated the notice.
The university administration described this move as “damaging to the institution’s reputation”.
University spokesperson Prof Mukul Srivastava shared that the reaserch award distribution programme was initiated when Prof Monisha Banerjee was dean of research. According to documented information obtained from the finance officer’s office, there is no record of honorarium payments made to the members of the research award-giving committee, he added.
The notice stated that the allegations made by the teachers were not based on facts and appeared to tarnish the image of senior officials. As directed by the vice-chancellor’s office, the teachers concerned have been asked for a detailed explanation within three days. If a satisfactory response is not provided within the stipulated time, action will be taken against them as per the rules, he said.
However, LUTA office-bearers said they are committed to the interests of teachers and the university. “We had come to know about financial and administrative irregularities through reliable sources. Therefore, in the best interests of the university, and at the teachers’ request, the association requested the chief minister to conduct a special investigation,” said Jafri.
Chandki Ram Gautam added: “We stand firm on our demand for an investigation.”
