Makkar can't order special audit of accounts: Ahluwalia
Suspended vice-chancellor of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib World Sikh University Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia has questioned the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar's move to get the varsity accounts audited by private firms. He said that though Makkar was the chancellor of the varsity, he didn't have any power to order a special audit.
Suspended vice-chancellor of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib World Sikh University Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia has questioned the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar's move to get the varsity accounts audited by private firms. He said that though Makkar was the chancellor of the varsity, he didn't have any power to order a special audit.
"Makkar is using all diversionary tactics to dig out the so called irregularities on my part. For this purpose he has ordered a special audit of the university accounts since 2004 forgetting that annual audit of the university accounts is already done by a Chandigarh-based charted accountant firm which is not under the control of the vice-chancellor," said Ahluwalia, in a press release issued here.
Every year the audit report of the university is sent to the SGPC, which didn't raise any objection to any of the audit reports sent all these years. "After ordering my suspension, Makkar is desperately trying to justify his action by finding faults in my working which are not at all mentioned in my suspension order," he said.
On the UGC approval issue, Ahluwalia defended himself saying that no such sanction was required for private universities under the state acts. "Still as a matter of precaution, the degrees conferred by the university were reported to the UGC through a letter sent in March 2011.
In July 2011, the UGC communicated that the university was empowered to grant degrees at its main campus, but if off-campus centres are started, UGC approval was required," he said.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar could not be contacted for his comments. However, a close confidant of Makkar said that Ahluwalia was above 70 years of age, which was against UGC rules. He said that if UGC approval was not necessary, why the other private universities were taking it.
"Ahluwalia is deliberately giving wrong information to the Press to cover up his mismanagement," he added.