An Open Letter to the Governor of West Bengal,
Dear Mr M K Narayanan
Being the Chancellor of all the State Universities of West Bengal you are empowered by the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2011 to remove any Vice-Chancellor if you are convinced that a Vice-Chancellor has abused or misused the powers vested in him or if the continuance in the office of the Vice-Chancellor is detrimental to the interest of the university. The new law has given you the power to show cause a Vice-Chancellor to provide him a reasonable opportunity to defend his case. You can also remove a Vice-Chancellor if evidence of gross financial irregularity is found to have been committed by him.
But what you would do to a Vice-Chancellor who had abused power and committed gross financial irregularity and then "successfully" completed his terms and have been enjoying the pension benefits out of taxpayer's money? Even if you come to know that the abuse and misuse of power by a Vice-Chancellor had taken place under your Chancellorship, is there any clause in the much publicised University Laws (Amendment) Ordinance directed towards cleaning the universities of the political dirt and garbage accumulated over the last 34 years of the previous left front government's rule in the state? Do you know that the absence of any effective clause to punish retired corrupt Vice-Chancellors of the left regime is further strengthened by the active presence of the old guards of the earlier regime who are trying to cover up and protect their previous masters? The moral of the story of course is banal. Political regimes really do not change the human beings unless you make people less greedy for power and money. Your predecessor, Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi would definitely have appreciated my point.
I regard you as a different kind of person who acted as an ever alert and committed sentinel at the highest level of bureaucracy dedicated towards the security of the nation and maintenance of discipline amongst her citizenry. Being highly respectful to your past career records, I would like to draw your kind attention to an unprecedented case of corruption committed by a former Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University (VU).
The name of the Vice-Chancellor is Swapan Kumar Pramanick who shared stage with you during the Convocation of Vidyasagar University held in the month of April 2010. The kind of corruption done by him surpassed any known fraudulent act committed by the Vice-Chancellors of the Indian Universities. Let us go into the details of the case.
In the month of February, 2010, I filed an RTI application to know the details of the foreign tours of Prof Swapan Kumar Pramanick, Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University. The reply to the aforesaid RTI application revealed that Prof Pramanick had spent Rs 60,976/- from the UGC-Unassigned Grants Scheme in 2004 to attend the 36th International Sociological Congress in Beijing, China, held during 7-11 July 2004. Incidentally, as per UGC guidelines, the Vice-Chancellors are not entitled to get financial support for their foreign tours under this particular scheme. There is a separate scheme of the UGC to give financial support for the foreign tours of the Vice-Chancellors. Furthermore, when I filed RTI applications seeking the vouchers submitted by the Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University for the expenses incurred for his China tour, those were simply not given to me. Yes, I made complaints u/s 19(1) and 20(1) of the RTI Act to the West Bengal Information Commission and those are gathering dust on the tables at Bhabani Bhaban, Kolkata for several months. I also wanted to know the 'benefits' gained by Vidyasagar University from the China tour of the Vice-Chancellor to which the Public Information Officer replied twice that the 'query' does not come under the purview of the RTI Act!
I then sought a copy of the invitation letter from the Public Information Officer of Vidyasagar University which was given to me. The invitation letter was e-mailed from Professor Jing Tian Kui, Director, Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, People’s Republic of China to Professor Swapan Kumar Pramanick on 11 November 2003 addressing the latter as "Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University" while Pramanick joined Vidyasagar University on 01.12.2003! It appears from the documents that Prof Pramanick had applied to the Director, Prof Jing Tian Kui, expressing his desire to attend the Congress by impersonating as Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University before 11 November, 2003 when Professor Anandadeb Mukhopadhyay was occupying the VC's chair! Prof Jing Tian Kui also clearly stated in his letter that Prof Pramanick has to ''cover his own travel costs, accommodation, membership fee and other expenses travelling to China".
Later, after joining the VU on 1 December, 2003 Prof Pramanick, by using his office, procured grants for meeting hundred percent expenses to be incurred by him from the UGC for the trip. On the basis of his application, a sum of Rs 75,000/- was released from UGC's unassigned grant scheme for the financial year of 2004-05. But according to UGC guidelines on unassigned grant, the V-Cs of universities in India are not entitled to avail themselves of the financial assistance for foreign travel from the unassigned grant scheme of the UGC. The reason is simple. There is a separate scheme of UGC for the foreign travel of the VCs entitled 'Travel Grant Scheme for college teachers/ VCs/ Commission members", according to the guidelines. But surprisingly, Prof Pramanick did not apply for grants under the above scheme of UGC meant for VCs to which he was aptly entitled. The story also appeared in the media and none from Vidyasagar University protested.
The matter however did not end in the media. Through RTI applications, I have come to know that no grant from UGC was sanctioned to Prof Swapan Kumar Pramanick for his Beijing tour. During 2004-2009 twenty five Vice-Chancellors from the different universities of India went abroad under the 'Travel Grant Scheme for college teachers/ VCs/ Commission members and Professor Pramanick's name did not figure in the long list. Thanks to Right to Information Act which helped me to procure all the documents. I then complained to the Higher Education Minister of West Bengal on 01.08.2011 regarding the case of impersonation and embezzlement of UGC Grants by Prof Swapan Kumar Pramanick. The Higher Education Minister's department sought a detailed report on the matter from the Registrar of Vidyasagar University in a letter dated 16 September 2011 but that was all. The Registrar did not send any report. I again filed an RTI application and finally a complaint to the West Bengal Information Commission on 19 March 2012 and 1 am yet to receive any reply from your appointed information commissioners. Meanwhile, I sent a complaint to the Chairman of UGC on 16 March 2012 followed by one RTI application dated 18.06.2012 seeking to know about the action taken on my complaint since the UGC Chairman also sat over my complaint for three months. That probably worked and the Deputy Secretary of the UGC sent a letter dated 27.07.2012 to the Registrar, VU requesting him to refund Rs 60976/- which according to UGC was misappropriated by the former Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University. According to reports published in the media, and you will be surprised to know that the officials of the earlier red regime at Vidyasagar University in collusion with the executive council members of the present government have been trying hard to misconstrue the case of'misappropriation' of the former Vice-Chancellor by delaying the process of refunding the money to UGC.
Let me return to the point with which I began this letter. Knowing fully well that there is no provision in the revised Act of the Universities of West Bengal to take action against a corrupt and retired Vice-Chancellor should not your Excellency intervene at this juncture and suggest the present executive council of Vidyasagar University to realise Rs 60976/- with interest from Prof Swapan Kumar Pramanick and also to order a judicial enquiry to probe into the case of impersonation and embezzlement of public money by a person who being appointed by your good office occupied and enjoyed the highest academic and administrative post of a university founded by a Cambridge doctorate Professor Anil Kumar Gayen after the name of Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar for two successive terms?
With my highest regards.
Yours sincerely
Abhijit Guha
Acknowledgement
This letter was first published in the Frontier in its issue Vol. 45, No. 23, Dec 16-22, 2012.
