'Mah deviates from rules for 

NU V-C selection 

Deviating from the rules, the Maharashtra Government’s Department of Higher and Technical Education has invited applications for the post of Vice-Chancellor of Nagpur University.

The committee which selects the Vice-Chancellors is called ‘search committee’ and is supposed to search for a suitable person for appointment as Vice-Chancellor. The committee, constituted under section 12 of Maharashtra Universities Act, seeks résumé of persons who are suitable for holding the highest position in a university. The entire process is carried out under the instructions of the Chancellor.

Entry of politicians in the field of education has also had its impact on the selection process. Earlier, only academicians of repute were considered for appointment as Vice-Chancellors. In the last two decades, it has become more of a political appointment. Although the political influences were evident during this period, the entire process was being carried out through the office of the Chancellor.

This time, the Maharashtra Government has issued a notification on Saturday inviting details of the persons for appointment as Vice-Chancellor.

Issuance of such a notification itself is against the spirit of selection of the Vice- Chancellor. As the appointing authority is the Chancellor, it is he who interviews the individuals recommended by the screening committee. He has full authority to select one of the persons recommended by the screening committee or even reject all the recommended names.

The government appears to have robbed these powers from the Chancellor and has invited applications from individuals for the V-C’s post. The committee has only one representative of the Higher and Technical Education Department. This nominee influencing the selection process has been made public by issuing the notification.

The notification says that names may be ‘suggested’ for nomination as Vice-Chancellor. As majority of engineering and medical colleges are owned by ministers and influential political persons, the selection of a Vice-Chancellor cannot be said to be done keeping academic interest of the university and the society.

The sources have informed that the Chancellor Mohammad Fazal has called a meeting of the screening committee on December 1. The committee has invited ‘suggestions’ before November 29. The committee is likely to recommend three names to the Chancellor from among whom one will be selected as Vice-Chancellor of Nagpur University.

The selection gains more importance after the exposé of bogus marksheet and degree scandal. The enquiry in the scandal has not yet been completed. It is suspected that several bigwigs are involved in the scandal directly or indirectly.

Mixed response to VHP’s bandh call

Vidarbha Bandh call given by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)’s Vidarbha unit and its allied Hindu organisations in protest against Shankaracharya’s arrest received mixed response in the city and region on Friday. Even though VHP leaders have claimed 100 per cent support to the bandh all across the region, in Nagpur the agitation was limited to the areas in central parts of the city.

According to the police, Nagpur witnessed a mixed response to the agitation. Business installations along Central Avenue, in Mahal, and Sitabuldi remained closed for the day but in Sadar and a few other market areas the business was as usual. VHP leader Dr Hemant

 Jambhekar alleged that despite the promise of Police administration to co-operate with VHP activists during the bandh, at many places police pressurised small businessmen to open their shops. Police have tried to suppress the spontaneous response of the public to the bandh call, he charged.

VHP’s territorial chief Prof Vyankatesh Abdeo and Vidarbha unit President Dr Appasaheb Patil claimed that the bandh was a total success as almost all public, government and business institutions in Akola, Wardha, Amravati, Bhandara, Gondia, Yavatmal and Nagpur remained closed in support of the call. “It was total success as per the reports from our VHP workers across the region,” they stated.

The leaders, while condemning the police custody remand to the Kanchi seer, pointed out that in Yavatmal some VHP activists attempted to immolate self when the news of PCR to Shankaracharya came in. However, the police later foiled the self-immolation bid.

According to Abdeo and Patil nearly 400 VHP activists were detained by the police in the entire Vidarbha. In Nagpur total 175 activists, including 15 women workers of Durga Wahini, have been detained, according to the local unit leaders here.

Daud Bhai Sheikh, Vice-President of Maharashtra Unit of Humanrights Association of India has strongly condemned the arrest of Hindu religious head.

He fears that the arrest may prove dangerous for the minorities in a Hindu majority country. He has honoured the role of Shankaracharya in resolving the vexed Ayodhya dispute.

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha workers took active part in the bandh. State unit chief Arun Joshi led demonstrations organised in various areas of the city on Friday. Vasant Mahajan, Dada Tambekar, Virendra Deshpande, Ranjit Joshi, Akshay Wagh, Anant Padhye, Abhijit Joshi, Raju Moharbadwe, Hatagade, Mude, Wahane, Mate, Chaudhary, Pandhare, Arvikar, Mahurle, Khotele, Mandavkar, Rane, Sant and others took part in the agitation. In Khaparkheda, the bandh was successfull, claims Subhash Bhatra, Ashok Zingare, Ramesh Lodhe, Gaikwad, Shingane, More Asif Sayyed and others.

‘Power’ politics of NCP bigwigs

There is much more to it than what meets the eye in the case of Maharashtra PWD (Public Enterprises) Minister Anil Deshmukh defaulting energy bill of Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). It is not just a case of defeated candidate Satish Shinde trying to get even with Anil Deshmukh. Certainly, it is much more important than one insignificant Assistant Engineer A. G. Kashikar getting suspended in the case for not including Deshmukh’s name on the list of defaulters.

What is there at the core of the dispute is the intense infighting within the  Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In fact, it is an attempt of a strong lobby of party ministers from Western Maharashtra to cut Deshmukh to size as he is now coming out of the confinement of his constituency and trying to become party’s numero uno leader of the Vidarbha region after Datta Meghe losing this status.

This has become more obvious as MSEB Chairman Jayant Kawle, in his suo moto action, ‘verbally’ instructed Manohar Bagde, Chief Engineer, Nagpur District Zone, to suspend Kashikar for not including Deshmukh’s name on the list of defaulters and also not disconnecting Deshmukh’s power supply for non-payment of dues. This is unprecedented for several reasons. First and foremost is the fact that Kashikar’s suspension is the first of its kind. Before Kashikar, not even a lineman was suspended for such ‘crime’. Even today, there are hundreds and hundreds of such cases in which power supply of defaulters was not disconnected for non-payment of dues.

Not only this, but the fact that the defeated candidate Satish Shinde who came forward to raise this issue, got the copy of the Consumer Personal Ledger (CPL) in just a day of his submitting an application for the same as per provisions of the Right to Information Act. For a common man, it takes several rounds of the MSEB office to obtain this document.

Some informal enquiry in NCP circles revealed that Satish Shinde is just incidental in this case and real players of this game are none other than R. R. Patil, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, Jayant Patil, Maharashtra Finance Minister and of course, Dilip Walse-Patil, Maharashtra Energy Minister. Sources have confirmed that the MSEB Chairman did not act because his ‘conscience’ compelled him to do so but it was Walse-Patil who compelled him to issue ‘verbal instructions’. Of course, ‘on the record’ neither Walse-Patil nor Kawle will accept this and will stress that it was ‘upright, straight forward and law abiding’ Chief Engineer Manohar Bagde who took the action. ‘It is a routine action,’ is the excuse and explanation that all MSEB officials are already offering to the media.

Poor MSEB officials! They are caught in a very strange situation. They have already initiated action as instructed by their ‘top boss’. However, at the same time, they are now busy pleading that neither Kashikar nor Deshmukh is guilty in the case. They are, however, not ready to go on strike to save Kashikar.

Interestingly, it is Subordinate Engineers’ Association that wrote to the Energy Minister of Maharashtra that ‘the matter regarding dispute of energy bill was pending in the court of District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum complaint number UTP/20/2001’. Further it stresses that as per the laid down procedure, publication of top ten consumers list is the sole responsibility of Executive Engineer (EE), Division Office. A possible question that comes to mind is whether Chief Engineer made a mistake in suspending AE Kashikar and in fact should have suspended the EE and the Divisional Accountant?

So there are several questions. Will EE and the Divisional Accountant (who normally handles the accounts, default cases and releases list of defaulters to the media) be suspended? Will Kashikar’s suspension be revoked? More than all this, since Shinde has already lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC), will EC disqualify Deshmukh?

Shinde has already expressed his resolve to move the court of law. If he does so, it is for sure that this case will take several curious turns in coming days.

Crop situation in divn alarming 

By Varsha Kanate 

The crop situation in Nagpur Division, comprising six districts,is alarming. Although the truepicture would be clear after harvesting, revised Anewari estimates released on November 15 by the divisional administration paint a grim scenario.

Gondia is the worst-affected district in the division, admitted Dr Shailesh Kumar Sharma, Divisional Commissioner.

Talking to The Hitavada, Dr Sharma said though the final figures are yet to come, the position would be clear only after January 15. Preliminary and revised estimation of Anewari show that nearly 30 to 35 per cent areas (villages) have below 50 paisa Anewari.

As many as 2,695 villages in the division have below 50 paisa Anewari, informed Dr Sharma. Nearly 741 villages from almost all the tehsils of the district are identified in the revised Anewari as worst-affected, he said. Places like Katol, Narkhed, Kuhi and Mouda in the Nagpur district are recorded as worst-hit.

Crop situation in Chandrapur, with 99 villages, mostly from Rajura, Ballarpur and Chandrapur itself and Aheri, Yavatmal, Bhamragarh and Sironcha in

the adjoining Gadchiroli district is worrying as the crop is badly damaged due to scanty rainfall, Dr Sharma said.

According to Sharma, rainfall was satisfactory, Similarly, administration implemented water conservation drive on war footing. Every possible care was taken to elevate the water table to improve the crop situation.

When asked what went wrong?, Sharma said: “Actually we should count the rainy days and not the percentage. It rained only in the month of June, July and August. September was dry,” he explained.

When asked about his assessment of the situation, Sharma said heavy rains in one single day doesn’t make any difference in improving the situation. “We needed continuous rains.”

The situation is so bad that Rabi crop is also going to be affected. Till date 50 per cent sowing has been completed, informed Dr Sharma. “We have kept our fingers crossed,” he said.

The Divisional Commissioner further said that looking into the harsh reality that stares in the face of administration, steps will be taken to provide work on demand and Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) would be an effective weapon.

Nearly three lakh labourers are expected to get benefited through this scheme this year if the situation continues to be the same, he said.

Sharma said overcoming drinking water problem would be the biggest challenge before the administration. Funds will be no problem and a separate machinery would take care of water supply.

NMC cancels Vibrant contract

Failure to achieve stipulated 30% energy saving in street-light maintenance In a sudden move, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) general body on Wednesday unanimously decided to terminate the controversial electrical maintenance and energy saving contract awarded to Vibrant Infotech by the civic body one-and-a-half years ago.

After an hour-long debate in the NMC House over the flaws in the electricity services of Vibrant Infotech, Mayor Vikas Thakre directed the civic administration to terminate the agency’s services and restore the old contracts.

However, according to sources the agency may challenge the termination of its contract by NMC in the court of law.

Resentment was brewing among city fathers over the procedural follies committed by the administration while awarding contract to the agency. The Hitavada in its story published on July 6 had also revealed how the agency had failed in achieving 30 per cent energy saving through its energy savers.

BJP corporators Subhash Aparajit and Sanjay Bangale, Congress corporators Satish Hole and Prafulla Gudadhe had alleged corruption in the deal and were instrumental in bringing to the fore irregularities on part of the agency as well as the administration while carrying out the work of street-light maintenance.

The corporators were complaining that they were facing public anger as the agency was resorting to frequent power cuts on the streetlights in order to save electricity. This, corporators said was being done by the company as its energy saving units were not working as per the expectations.

During a heated discussion, Prafulla Gudadhe and Subhash Aparajit revealed that 221 energy saving units (ESU) out of the total 784 installed by the company were not working as they were defective. Also around 350 ESUs, including some old ones, were missing. They also objected to civic administration’s act of extending Rs 43 lakh payment to the company despite company’s failure to meet 30 per cent energy saving on NMC’s electricity bill.

Corporators contended that as per the agreement with Vibrant, NMC should have saved Rs 2.4 crore on its streetlights’ power bill every year. The base for this was 2002 electricity bill that amounts to Rs 8 crore. A 30 per cent saving on this amounts to Rs 2.4 crore and the annual bill should not be more than around Rs 5.6 crore. Vibrant’s contract period began in July 2003, the bills for remaining six months of 2003 should have been around Rs 2.8 crore after implementing Vibrant’s energy saving methods. The monthly billing should not have exceeded Rs 46 lakh.

The corporators pointed out that an allowance of Rs 14 lakh on this can be made taking into account more streetlights, new high mast lamps and maintenance costs. Even after considering this the maximum billing should not have been more than Rs 60 lakh. But the MSEB bill to NMC for each month amounts to Rs 70 lakh ie nearly Rs 10 lakh more than expected, corporators stated.

Gudadhe pointed out that complaints about streetlights were piling up with the zonal administrations. He charged that the company was submitting false reports to the NMC that it had taken care of all the complaints. He cited the example of Hanuman Nagar zone where 4.9 per cent streetlights were out of order. Satish Hole doubted the quality of ESUs installed by Vibrant.

Gudadhe and ruling party leader Yashwant Kumbhalkar charged administrative misconduct on part of civic administration while signing agreement with the Vibrant and threatened to register complaint with the Central Vigilance Commission against the deal.

Gudadhe further pointed out that the bill of streetlights on the road leading to Chief Minister’s Ramgiri residence was more than its last year’s electricity bill. They later also demanded to take back NMC’s Rs 43 lakh extended to Vibrant as its first payment, and suspension of Executive Engineer (Electric) S B Jaiswal. At the end of the debate, Mayor in his ruling asked the civic administration to part its way from the contract with Vibrant.

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