Shillong, June 19 (MExN): The North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA), Shillong today stated that the Academic Council and Executive Council have resolved to maintain status quo on Hill Areas Special Allowance (HASA). A press release from Prof. XP Mao, president and Dr. MSN Rahman, general secretary of NEHUTA maintained that the Visitor’s (President of India) directive to take/initiate action regarding the ordinance has been complied with by the authorities of the University such as Academic Council by maintaining status quo on HASA, “which is binding on the Vice-Chancellor.” It noted that NEHU Act and statues do not have any provision of repeal of an ordinance. The teachers’ association alleged that the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. SK Srivastava communicated to the office of the Visitor an appeal from Executive Council vide letter no. F.No.Conf/Misc/HASA/2015-529 dated April 27, 2017 asking for continuation of payment of HASA. “However, VC sent fabricated and fictitious minutes of Executive Council. In response, the directive to take action on repeal of OE-10 from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, GoI came against a different no. Conf/Misc/HASA/2015-531 dated 27th April, 2017,” it accused. Further, the release said that in the Academic Council held on May 17, the whole council decried such a “manipulative alteration of the letter sent from the Vice-Chancellor as the Chairman of the Executive Council, letter number 529, while the response from MHRD cited a different letter with a different number 531.” It termed it “a clear case of Vice-Chancellor himself writing a different letter in the name of Executive Council, of which he is the Chairman.” When Academic Council pointed this out, the VC had no other option but to withdraw the letter that came from MHRD with the number 531, NEHUTA added. “He could not provide any documentary evidence on the floor of the Academic Council to support the claim that content of these two letters 529 and 531 are the same. Neither was he able to justify why two different letters were sent on the same matter to two different offices of GoI.” It also said that the Executive Council meeting held on May 15, 2017 resolved that “matter be placed before the Academic Council.” But, it alleged, “the Vice-Chancellor in a deceptive manner decided to send a fictitious Executive Council resolution stating ‘the Council resolved to humbly accept the direction of the honourable Visitor’, which resulted in a further advisory to the Vice-Chancellor from D. Ramakrishna Rao, Deputy Secretary, MHRD in the name of Government of India to implement this decision of the Executive Council as informed to him, which has never been adopted, as referred above.” Accusing the Vice-Chancellor of misleading the Visitor’s office, NEHUTA meanwhile charged the Pro-VC of justifying such an act of “deliberate misrepresentation”. “…It is also regrettable to learn that Pro-VC is claiming that the Visitor directed to repeal the Ordinance, while the Visitor only directed to take action.”
