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| VC inaugurates incomplete buildings, install name plates without date/month | | Hasty inauguration of buildings at BGSBU | |  EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 24: The incumbent Vice Chancellor of Baba Ghulam Shah Bhadshah University (BGSBU) who is scheduled to demit office within a few days, has reportedly inaugurated a few incomplete buildings which are yet to be handed over to the University as well as awaiting compulsory safety audits. Name-plates of the Vice Chancellor have been installed in the building premises but without mentioning the date and month of inauguration. The Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC) Deputy General Manager (DGM) Arshad Mir confirmed that some of the buildings inaugurated recently were incomplete but added that JKPCC was merely the executing agency (a contractor) and University was the project authority and it was their decision to inaugurate the buildings and not theirs.
Sources informed Early Times that on 19th of October, VC of BGSBU inaugurated buildings, which were still incomplete and the University authorities had demanded funds for the completion of these buildings in the financial year 2020-21.
“As per norms of buildings’ construction in the government institutions, after completion of the construction the safety audit of the building was conducted by the concerned authority, during which it was ascertained about the safety of the building. Moreover after safety audit the building was handed over by the constructing agency to the project authority, which officially took over the building”, sources said.
However in the case of BGSBU, three buildings were inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor. “These buildings include New Boys Hostel, Library and Mathematical block and the inauguration was scheduled to be held at 2:30 PM on 19th October”, sources said, adding that only few of the selected officials were called at the eleventh hour.
All these three buildings are incomplete, safety audits have not been done, while formal handover and takeover is also pending but the VC went on to inaugurate the buildings. “The Library building is scheduled to be inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor but VC had inaugurated a reading hall, while his name plate was also installed in the building of Boys hostel, which is still incomplete. The haste is due to the fact that VC is going to retire within a few days and the Search Committee has already finalized the names for new VC”, sources said. The name plate installed outside Boys hostel building reads, “BGSBU Rajouri Boys Hostel Inaugurated By Prof. Javed Musarrat Vice Chancellor 2020”, with no date or month of inauguration, which is usually written on official inauguration name-plates.
As per official documents, the approved cost of the construction of Central Library is Rs. 1091.70 lakhs and expenditure till ending March was Rs. 958 lakhs, while the proposed outlay for 2020-21 has been kept at Rs. 133.70 lakhs and status of work was 80 percent in March. Similarly the approved cost of Boys hostel is Rs. 622.24 lakhs and expenditure ending March 2020 was Rs. 405 lakhs and proposed outlay for 2020-21 was Rs. 218.24 lakhs and physical status was 75 percent. The approved cost of Mathematical Sciences Block (UGC funded) is Rs. 300 lakhs and proposed outlay for 2020-21 was Rs. 30 lakhs and 80 percent work was completed.
However, the DGM JKPCC Rajouri, Arshad Mir said that the Botany and Zoology blocks have been already handed over to the University. He accepted that the buildings were incomplete and formally not handed over to the University. “The project authority is the University, while JKPCC is simply a contractor and it was the decision of project authority to inaugurate the buildings and not of JKPCC”, Mir said.
The Executive Engineer of BGSBU Bhushan Lal Koul and Vice Chancellor Prof. Javed Musarrat didn’t pick up their phones for comments. Deputy Registrar Establishment cum Estates, M Qasim Kohli evaded queries and asked to contact the Registrar or Executive Engineer about the issue but when apprised that the Executive Engineer was not picking up the phone, he dropped the phone. |
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