Activist Vivek Velankar and the students of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) are alleging that the Department of Technology has purchased equipment at extremely high prices under projects funded by Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) and the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department. They are claiming that the department spent several crores, which was more than required to obtain the equipment.
Velankar has written to the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, claiming that the department spent several crores, which was more than required. He stated that the same or similar equipment that cost only a few lakh rupees under the RUSA virtual classroom project in 2018–19 was purchased again for the Tribal Development Department’s project at a much higher price than the original cost.
The activist and students say this indicates a clear misuse of government funds. Items like UPS systems, access control units, fire alarms, CCTV systems, air conditioners, servers and even flooring work were billed at unusually high rates. Based on the documents he received, he estimates that out of the ₹6-crore tribal project budget, at least ₹3.5 crore was overspent.
In the case of 10 KVA UPS systems, the RUSA project paid ₹3,78,900 for each unit with a two-hour backup, while the Tribal project paid as much as ₹35,09,050 per unit with only a 15-minute backup. Two units were procured, allegedly resulting in an excess payment of nearly ₹59 lakh.
Similarly, the ESSL Access Control System, which cost ₹43,458 under RUSA, was billed at ₹10,16,726 per unit under the Tribal project. Two units were purchased, leading to an alleged excess expenditure of about ₹19 lakh.
The same discrepancies were seen for the fire alarm system. While RUSA paid ₹1,45,000 per unit, the Tribal project paid ₹9,97,630 for each of the six systems procured, inflating costs by approximately ₹58 lakh. CCTV systems also showed stark discrepancies -- purchased for ₹1,31,000 each under RUSA but at ₹10,27,655 per unit under the Tribal project. Four units were bought, adding another ₹36 lakh to the alleged excess.
Velankar claims that two 3-ton AC units were billed at ₹24,05,540 each, a price he says is excessive by at least ₹40 lakh in total. The project also includes a flooring cost of ₹9,10,500 for just 300 sq ft, and three servers priced at ₹79,50,400 each, totalling over ₹2.38 crore. An additional ₹1 crore was billed for implementation out of the total ₹6-crore project budget, he adds.
Velankar alleges that at least ₹3.5 crore was overspent and demanded that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) register a case and conduct a thorough probe. He has also asked the government to verify how much of the purchased equipment is actually in use today.
He has also demanded suspension of those responsible, a full audit of purchases made in the last eight years, and permanent cancellation of their procurement powers.
Rahul Sasane, President of the University Students’ Struggle Action Committee, said, “The concerned department head has committed corruption worth crores. He is not alone; several senior officials and some political figures are also involved. That is why, despite making a fraud of crores, the professor is still roaming free. He must be arrested immediately. And during the senate, one of the officials had also raised this issue and had asked for a forensic audit. What happened to the forensic audit? Its findings must also be made public.”
“There are not enough hostels for students, no nutritious food, and fees are increased excessively every year. We are told there are no funds for basic facilities, yet crores of rupees are being misused through corruption. This is truly shameful. Strict action, including suspension, must be taken against the concerned department heads,” said Abhishek Shelkar, a student of the Department of Political Science.
“Some professors and department heads at the university are massively misusing university funds. The concerned department head should be immediately removed from the post. Whatever corruption he has committed, twice that amount should be recovered directly from his salary," added Rohit Bhamre, a student of SPPU.
Meanwhile, The Free Press Journal tried to reach out to the university administration for their comment, but there was no response.
