Mumbai varsity’s VC was appointed on the basis of merit, says Governor

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan said the selection of Dr Rajan Welukar as Mumbai University’s vice-chancellor has been done in a transparent manner and there is no room for suspicion in it.

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan said the selection of Dr Rajan Welukar as Mumbai University’s vice-chancellor has been done in a transparent manner and there is no room for suspicion in it.

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Welukar’s appointment had kicked up a controversy with doubts being raised over his selection. There have been allegations that he was not qualified enough for the post.

Breaking his silence since the controversy broke out, Sankaranarayanan, who is also Chancellor of the university, told Hindustan Times that the selection was done as per norms. “I have full faith in the experts’ panel that shortlisted the nominees. All of them were qualified,” the Governor said.

He also said he had directed the university to hold examinations and release results strictly according to schedule.

The Governor expressed his view on Mumbai’s second airport and said work needs to start at the earliest: “The environment needs to be protected but we need to find a way out of it to build the airport.”

Insisting that the people wanted infrastructure projects to be built fast, he said: “People spend a lot of time when they travel to Mumbai as the planes keep circling over the airport till they get the clearance to land. The second airport needs to come up soon.”