A committee, constituted by Jadavpur University to look into the ‘huge gap’ in its income and expenditure and suggest measures to bridge the chasm, has identified power expenses as one of the reasons behind the spiralling rise in expenditure.
The university annually incurs an expense of Rs 10 crore to pay electricity bills.
A member of the committee that held its first meeting on December 22 said if the indiscriminate use of air-conditioning machines, lights and fans in the departments and corridors could be curbed, the cost could be reduced by at least Rs 3 crore.
The committee has suggested that introducing the LED lights would help bring down the costs further.
The committee comprising eight members, which in its first meeting identified the areas that were triggering the rise in expenditure, thinks the absence of any monitoring in the civil construction works too was a factor behind the escalation in expenditure.
The Telegraph reported on September 18 that the panel was constituted by the university’s finance committee, which in its meeting held early September, flagged concerns about “the precarious fund situation and acute shortage of money”.
Saikat Sinha Roy, a professor in the economics department who chairs the committee, said they first want to focus on how the expenditure could be contained and then suggest ways of resource generation.
“We identified that the indiscriminate use of air-conditioning machines, lights and fans is posing a challenge. We have to bring down the costs, using the facilities sensibly and judiciously. The university authorities are required to put up posters to sensitise all about this,” said Sinha Roy.
A member of the committee said there are instances that a section of the teachers and officials after leaving their rooms for taking classes or attending meetings don’t switch-off air-conditioning machines, lights and fans.
“We cannot afford to overlook this wastage at a time when the university is reeling under a fund crunch,” he said.
The financial crunch that Jadavpur University is reeling under has become so acute that it featured prominently in vice-chancellor Suranjan Das’s convocation address on Saturday in presence of governor C.V. Ananda Bose, the chancellor.
Inadequate support both from the state government and the central government is at the heart of the fund crunch.
A member of the committee said there are concerns about the absence of any monitoring in the civil construction works because this leads to repetition of the same work without any justification and escalation of budget.
“Suppose civil construction work has been done during the tenure of a head of the department. Once someone else is taking up the job after a two year’s gap, he is giving requisition for fresh construction,” he said. “This has to stop”.
JU annually incurs an expense of Rs 10 crore for civil construction and its maintenance.
VC Das had in a letter to the state government in September pointed out that the state, too, had reduced grants in the 2022-23 financial year by about Rs 7.5 crore, compared to what was sanctioned the previous year.
The university was sanctioned Rs 32 crore in 2021- 22 while for 2022-23, it was allotted Rs 24 crore.
“Sometimes work done by a contractor is wearing off within months. So the work is being repeated. We have to ensure that construction work once done must last for four to five years,” a JU official said.