Proposal for GIPE Nagpur campus to be dropped: SIS
P K Dwivedi, committee member and former president of SIS, confirmed the decision stating that the entire issue revolves around land in Nagpur which was being acquired for the GIPE campus
Following registration of an FIR in the alleged financial fraud involving the Servants of India Society (SIS) and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), the SIS has decided to withdraw its proposal for establishing a GIPE campus in Nagpur.
P K Dwivedi, committee member and former president of SIS, confirmed the decision stating that the entire issue revolves around land in Nagpur which was being acquired for the GIPE campus. “The proposed campus was meant to offer new courses and benefit students. However, with allegations of fraud now levelled against SIS members, there is no point in continuing with the project,” Dwivedi said. He added that the organisation may consider putting the land on the open market and a final decision regarding the same will be taken later.
Issuing a detailed press statement on Monday, SIS defended the financial transaction at the centre of the controversy, stating that the transfer of ₹1.5 crore from GIPE to SIS was carried out with due approval from GIPE’s board of management (BOM) and finance committee. The amount, SIS said, was meant to secure a 10,000 square feet land parcel in Nagpur for the institute’s expansion. The press statement further referred to the University Grants Commission (UGC) Memorandum of Association (MoA) provisions stating that GIPE as a deemed university is permitted to use interest accrued on its corpus fund for the institute’s development and for setting up off-campus centres, subject to eligibility criteria.
Clarifying the sequence of events, the SIS stated that it first approached GIPE for financial assistance in October 2022. GIPE’s BOM discussed the proposal and granted ‘in-principle’ approval during its meeting on December 14, 2022. Following this, a letter was sent by GIPE to SIS on February 24, 2023, outlining the intended use of the ₹1.5 crore for converting the Nagpur land into freehold property. In the same communication, the then-registrar Kapil Jodh informed that after detailed discussions between SIS and GIPE, a committee comprising the SIS secretary, Dr Anand Deshpande (chairman of NSC), and the registrar would finalise the modalities of transferring resources, infrastructure, or real estate to GIPE in return for the financial support extended.
As per this understanding, on March 2, 2023, GIPE directly transferred ₹1.02 crore and ₹37,000 to the Nagpur collector while an additional ₹40 lakh was transferred to SIS to cover associated expenses. The land was subsequently declared freehold by an order of the Nagpur collector on March 6, 2023. Dwivedi said that the GIPE vice-chancellor had informed the committee that the BOM had, in its December 14, 2022 meeting, approved the financial support to SIS for this purpose. In return, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was to be signed between GIPE and SIS, granting equivalent benefits to GIPE in the form of land or real estate rights for its activities. Dwivedi claimed that this ensured that the assets were secured in exchange for the financial assistance.
Meanwhile, SIS former secretary Milind Deshmukh moved a local court seeking bail. Deshmukh was earlier arrested for alleged misappropriation of funds. The Deccan police registered an FIR on April 4 under sections 34, 406, 409 and 420 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Deshmukh and others.