SU Registrar was sacked for resufsing to pass an illegal payment

In a surprised move the vice-chancellor of Sambalpur University relieved the Registrar from his post after latter’s refusal to pass a cheque in favour of a black-listed company on Thursday. A senior lecturer Padmavati Gahan took over the charge of the controller of finance while SS Rath takes over the charge of Registrar on the direction of the vice-chancellor.

Sources said, Prof PC Samal was appointed by the Governor as the Registrar of Sambalpur University 3 months ago on the recommendation of the Higher Education department. He was also discharging additional duty controller of finance. On 31^st Oct, there was a dispute between the vice chancellor and registrar in connection to the payment of dues lying against a computer company that was banned by the government for a year in Dec 2008 for breech of trust. However Sambalpur University had selected the company to supply video conferencing system for its e-governance project in March 2009. So the registrar refused to pass the payment with out verifying the audit report of the company. “VC insists me to pass the payment Rs.54 lakhs to the Bhubaneswar based HCL firm but since I was in additional charge of the controller of finance I told the VC to wait till a regular controller of finance joins in the post. Since government has blacklisted the company for breach of trust with out making the system operation I was not in favour of the payment”, Dr. Prafulla Chandra Samal told TOI over phone.

According to him university has selected the Bhubaneswar based firm to supply video conferencing system for its e-governance centre during March 2009. The system has not yet been operational. The materials are kept in a storeroom. “Before the system is operational university should not release the payment. But I do not understand why VC insists on the payment before the system becomes operational”, Dr. Samal told.

I was surprised to get the order of relieve from the post of Registrar when I asked him to relive me only from the post of controller of finance. It was totally illegal. Anyway I brought it into the notice of my department while I joined in my parent Higher education department on Friday”, Dr. Samal told. Meanwhile Padmavati Gahan, the new in-charge of the finance of controller has yet to pass the payment in favour of the company as she has gone to Bhubaneswar on official duty, sources said.