Chennai, Nov 28 (PTI) The State Platform for Common School System — Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) urged the Tamil Nadu government on Friday not to permit the University of Madras to utilise its corpus fund to settle terminal benefits of retired employees, warning that such a move would amount to a breach of trust and could invite contempt of court.
In a statement issued here on Friday, SPCSS-TN said the Madras High Court, while hearing a contempt petition related to non-payment of pensionary dues, had recorded the State’s assurance that it would allocate funds to ensure timely disbursal of the entire terminal benefits, and argued that this clearly meant the government should provide budgetary support to the university rather than allowing use of the endowment fund.
The organisation expressed concern over a special meeting of the University of Madras Syndicate convened on November 28, for which the Registrar’s notice reportedly stated that the agenda would be placed on the table, and said there was apprehension that the body might be asked to approve breaking the corpus and withdrawing about Rs 95.44 crore — roughly one-third of the corpus, which it pegged at around Rs 300 crore — to pay dues to retired staff covered by the court order.
SPCSS-TN alleged that portions of the corpus fund and interest earned on its deposits had already been used earlier for university needs, terming this a violation of the purpose for which the fund was created, and contended that any further decision to tap the corpus for recurring expenses like salaries and pensions would amount to criminal breach of trust, wilful disobedience of the High Court’s order and misuse of the undertaking given to the court.
The forum urged the state government to step in immediately to ensure that the Syndicate does not pass any resolution allowing withdrawal from the corpus fund, and instead resolve the present crisis by allocating sufficient funds to the University of Madras in line with the assurance recorded by the High Court.
It also called for a special session of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to discuss the financial crises faced by state universities, including issues relating to the use of university land and the need for adequate budgetary allocation and full grants, and said the Syndicate should pass a resolution formally requesting the government to provide funds to meet recurring expenditure, including salaries and pensions. PTI JR JR ROH
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