Row over 'unauthorised' release of Rs 107 cr for economics school

Funds released without guidelines in place, Dept of Collegiate Education tells KSHEC

The release of Rs 107 crore by the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) for the construction of a building for the Bengaluru Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics (BBRASE) without a plan or estimate has not gone down well with the Department of Collegiate Education (DCE).

The KSHEC released the funds under the Special Component Plan (SCP) and the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP). The funds, in turn, have been transferred to the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) without administrative approval.

The DCE was not consulted for the fund release and transfer and has objected to the same, saying the BBRASE guidelines are still being drafted and a permanent director is yet to be identified by the search committee. That’s not all, the accounts and audit staff have not yet been recruited while the blueprint for the construction of the building was not approved either.

M N Ajay Nagabhushan, Commissioner, DCE, has written to the KSHEC, raising the objections. “The DCE will not be responsible for any financial irregularities if funds are released violating norms,” he wrote to S A Kori, Executive Director, KSHEC.

According to sources in the DCE, there is tremendous pressure to start the construction in the absence of laws governing BBRASE.

“The KSHEC has received the DCE’s letter that funds cannot be released for the project without approval. Funds have been transferred after obtaining approval from the Department of Higher Education,” Kori said.

He added: “The government has constituted a board of management under the higher education minister. The board is fully accountable for the funds released by the government. The KHB, which is a government undertaking, manages the construction project.”

The school has been registered under the Societies Registration Act and about 50 students have been admitted for the academic year 2017-18. The guest faculty has been taking classes at the Visual Arts Department of Bangalore University (BU). About 44 acres of land has been allotted for the school on the BU campus, though the permanent staff are yet to be recruited.