The officiating registrar and the finance officer of Visva-Bharati were gheraoed for more than three hours on Sunday by members of the non-teaching employees’ association demanding the Seventh Pay Commission arrears.

Saugata Chatterjee, the officiating registrar of the central university, and Nirmalya Banerjee, the officiating finance officer, were gheraoed from 11am to 2pm.

Visva-Bharati officials said funds received from the University Grants Commission to clear arrears were used up to pay salaries because there was a shortage of Rs 10 crore.

The dues, according to sources, were caused by a gap between the announcement of the Seventh Pay Commission salaries in mid-2018 and its implementation with retrospective effect from 2016.

“The university authorities have decided to be strict about our attendance but what about clearing our dues? We have been informed that the money sanctioned to pay our arrears was used for salary as there was a shortage in the salary and pension fund,” Bidyut Sarkar, general secretary of the Karmi Sabha, said.

Officiating registrar Chatterjee gave the protesters a written document on the Rs 10-crore shortage in the salary budget.

“Disbursing salary was our first priority. We are not getting full salary funds from the UGC every month. As a result, we had to divert the funds received to pay arrears to pay salary,” Chatterjee said.

“The administration is in touch with the UGC, requesting it to clear the dues at the earliest,” Banerjee said.

A university official said Visva-Bharati needed around Rs 17 crore every month to pay salaries to its teachers and non-teaching employees and and pensions to the retired.

“We get a salary and pension fund of Rs 14-16 crore from the UGC every month. We have urged the UGC to pay us the backlog,” the university official said.

The Karmi Sabha had in May submitted a memorandum to vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty.