UGC Rejects JNU’s Request to Disburse Overdue Grant of Rs. 11 Crore for Fellowships
- The research scholars of JNU have not been receiving non-NET fellowships since January 2017.
- UGC clarified that the request made by the varsity for the grant could not be processed as it is over and above the allocation.
The tussle over the funds between the University Grants Commission and Jawaharlal Nehru University does not seem to end now. Last month, research scholars of Jawaharlal Nehru University claimed that they were not getting non-NET fellowships since January 2017. Due to this, most of the students were not able to pay the mess fees and manage their regular expenses.
Understanding the problem faced by the students, the administration of JNU wrote to University Grants Commission seeking the disbursal of the overdue amount of Rs. 11 crore for fellowships. Replying to the request made by JNU, the University Grants Commission has indicated that the overdue amount mentioned by JNU is over and above the allocation and the Commission will not adhere to the same.
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The UGC further alleged that the varsity had incurred excess expenditure from its XII Plan Grant on water and electricity. In a response to the UGC, Vice-Chancellor of JNU wrote that the varsity demanded money as a part of allocation and pointed that the expenditure on electricity and water is unavoidable. He also sought an advice from the Commission on various ways to meet the expenditure without using the funds from the plan grant.
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Currently, Jawaharlal Nehru University is to receive Rs. 16 crore grant from University Grants Commission. Due to the blockade of funds from UGC, the varsity has been paying fellowships from its balance.
UGC further clarified that the varsity has to meet the expenditure on water and electricity from the non-plan grant and the Commission will not release the overdue grant. Under non-plan grant, UGC ordered a grant of Rs. 25 crores to meet the expenditure on electricity and water. However, the annual expenditure of the varsity on the same is Rs. 36 crore per year.