Pakistan, other countries delay paying up dues for South Asian University

Not only Pakistan, all other SAARC nations seem to be losing interest in the South Asian University (SAU), leaving it only to India to shoulder on the responsibility of running it, of course in addition to incurring the entire expenditure of building the campus in New Delhi.

Pakistan has not yet paid the full amount that the country was supposed to pay as the first tranche of its contribution to run the South Asia University. It was obligated to do so by December 2018. It has not so far paid a penny for the second tranche of its contribution too.

The six other SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) members – Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan – did pay the first tranche of their contributions towards meeting the recurring expenses to run the varsity. But they too now appear to be dilly-dallying and none of them so far paid the second tranche of their respective contributions.

India is the only SAARC member, which paid both the first and second tranches of its contributions towards running the South Asian University (SAU), in addition to footing the bill for building the campus of the varsity in its capital, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of late informed a parliamentary panel.

It was during the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka in November, 2005 that New Delhi proposed to host the SAU to provide world-class facilities and professional faculty to students and researchers from countries in South Asia. The intergovernmental agreement for setting up the varsity was signed during the 14th SAARC Summit held in New Delhi on April 4, 2007.

India committed to bear the entire expenses of building the permanent campus of the SAU in its national capital. The agreement provided that the eight member nations would share the recurring costs for running the institution. India was to bear 57.49% of the operational cost. Pakistan and Bangladesh were required to share 12.98% and 8.20% of the burden respectively. Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives were to foot 3.83% of the bill each. Sri Lanka and Nepal were to meet 4.92% of the operational cost each.

The SAARC member nations were obligated to contribute to meet the SAU’s operational expenses in two phases between 2010 and the middle of this year – the Phase I from 2010 to 2014 but subsequently extended till December 2018, and the Phase II (interim) from January 2019 to June 2020. Though India and all six other nations fully paid their share of contributions for the Phase I, Pakistan still has an outstanding amount of $ 510436.79 to pay up.

Except for India, none of the seven other nations have so far paid up their share of contributions for the Phase II (interim) of the operational expenses, although 14 of the 18-month-period, during which they are expected to clear the dues, already passed.

“The university and the SAARC secretariat (in Kathmandu) are regularly reminding the Member Countries concerned to remit their outstanding contributions,” the MEA informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs.

The SAARC itself is stuck in an impasse ever since New Delhi pulled out of the eight-nation bloc’s 19th summit, which was to be held in Islamabad in November 2016, protesting against Pakistan’s role in exporting terror to India. The summit was eventually called off and could not be held since then.

The Government of India so far spent $ 230.73 million for the SAU, including $ 14.94 million to buy a piece of land near Maidan Garhi in the outskirts of Delhi and $ 141.18 million for ongoing works for construction of the permanent campus of the varsity.

The varsity started functioning in a temporary campus in Delhi in August 2010. The Government of India has so far contributed $ 34.73 million as rent for the temporary premises the varsity has been operating in. India also provides 100 postgraduate and doctoral scholarships to the university every year.

The Government of India had allocated Rs 317.50 crore for the SAU in Union Budget 2019-20, but it had been revised to Rs 341.80 crore later. The Budget 2020-21 allocated Rs 325 crore for the varsity.

The construction of the SAU’s permanent campus also got delayed, but the MEA now conveyed to the parliamentary panel that the works under “Package I” had been completed; while the “Package II” and “Package III” works would be completed by the end of this year. “As regards Package IV, concerted and sustained efforts are being made by the university as well as the Ministry for approval of revised DPR (Detailed Project Report), clearance of forest land pockets and tree cutting permission from Forest Department and expeditious conclusion of the court cases,” the MEA added.