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Madras univ signs upkeep deal for non-existent pool

Admin · Guru

Oct 13 2014 : The Times of India (Chennai)

VC: Contract to be handed over without violation of varsity rules

Chennai:

It may be an illusion to see time as a series of events in linear progression, physicists say. Here's proof that they may be on to something: University of Madras has passed a resolution to give a maintenance contract for a swimming pool at its Chetpet sports ground to a private firm even though the pool does not exist as yet.

Vice-chancellor R Thandavan selected a firm and had a proposal tabled at a syndicate meeting last month, seeking that the firm be allowed to use part of the prime property to construct the pool and maintain it for a period of 33 years. Needless to say , the syndicate opposed this outright.

Yet, by the end of the meeting, amid heated protests, sources said the V-C had a modified resolution passed to give VV Water Pool Tech and VV Swimming Academy a maintenance contract for the pool for three years.

Officials in the university allege that V-C Thandavan had the maintenance contract awarded to the company to appease it in what was a unilateral decision, which was made possible because no senior government official in the syndicate panel attends its meetings. “The university ground at Chetpet is a prime property and a major asset of the institution,“ a university official said. “The notion of handing it over to a private firm for 33 years is unthinkable. The V-C's decision is suspicious to say the least.“

According to the minutes of the September 15 meeting, the syndicate resolved to build the pool on the university union ground in Chetpet using university resources and hand over its maintenance to VV Water Pool Tech and VV Swimming Academy for a period of three years under the terms and conditions to be decided upon at a later stage.

University sources confirmed that apart from a Rs 84 lakh estimate prepared by an architect, none of the other formalities to construct the pool -not even the floating of tenders -were taken up be fore vice-chancellor Thandavan decided on the contractor.

University officials point out that building the pool in the Chetpet ground is illogical to begin with because students on campuses at Guindy, Marina and Chepauk will not be able use the facility.

When contacted, Thandavan said the contract would be handed over without any violation in the rules of the university. He said if the minutes were incorrect, he would look into the matter. He said only one firm had submitted a quotation to the university for the maintenance contract but could not explain how that was possible before plans had been finalised to construction the pool.

Interestingly none of the seven government representatives attended the syndicate meeting, at which members made their resentment for the V-C clear, an official who attended the meeting said. Another controversy also erupted after the meeting.Four members objected in writing to the appointment of an assistant professor in varsity's department of Vaishnavism. However, while the resolution to hand over the swimming pool maintenance contract remained unchanged even after a second scrutiny, the minutes showed that only two members, and not four, objected to the appointment of the assistant professor.

Sources said some officials have been manipulating the minutes of syndicate meetings as well as other documents.

The university also proposes to build an indoor sports complex in the Chetpet sports ground but the swimming pool is not part of the plan. It has also proposed a Rs 4.5 crore synthetic hockey turf at the location with funding from the Centre.

Admin · Guru

Oct 14 2014 : The Times of India (Chennai)

Madras univ drops upkeep deal for yet-to-be-built pool

Binoy Valsan

Chennai:

The University of Madras syndicate on Monday decided to drop its plan to hand out the maintenance contract for the proposed Rs 84 lakh swimming pool at its ground in Chetpet to a private firm even before the pool was constructed.

The decision was taken at a syndicate meeting attended by three government officials following allegations that absence of government officials at such meetings was among the reasons for such decisions.

A senior IAS official questioned the logic behind finalizing the private firm for maintenance.

Vice-chancellor R Thandavan then decided to retract the decision taken during the previous syndicate meeting and instructed that it be deleted from the official records. TOI on Monday reported about the decision to give maintenance con tract for the swimming pool which does not exist as yet.

“The decision was dropped after it was raised at the syndicate meeting today . Not a single government official attended the previous meeting,“ sources said on Monday .

At the syndicate meeting on September 15, it was decided to hand over maintenance of the pool to city-based V V Water Pool Tech and V V Swimming Academy that proposed to construct the pool on university property and maintain it for 33 years. But, following opposition from some syndicate members, it was decided to construct the pool using university FUNDS and then entrust the maintenance to the firm for three years under terms to be evolved later.

The syndicate meeting on Monday also passed as many as 20 resolutions connected with academics and administrative affairs of the university. A section of academics have said the university should first focus on providing infrastructure facilities like adequate classrooms for various departments presently functioning out of temporary or dingy rooms.

They also said that though recruitment was carried out for as many as 93 vacancies in the recent past, numerous teaching posts were still lying vacant.