Maharashtra plans to revive ‘dormant’ Board of Society to protect property of government educational institutions

Mumbai: The state is exploring ways to revive an old government policy which would allow them to take greater control over government and government-funded institutions. The primary idea is to keep the academic and administrative autonomy of these institutions intact, but safeguard government property and assets, said sources.

While these institutions will continue to be managed by their board of governors (BoGs), the government’s plan is to revive and restructure the ‘dormant’ board of society (BoS) and its functions, which, as per an earlier resolution, is headed by the minister of technical education and has government officials, and the institute head as members, said govt sources.

As per the government resolution (GR) from October 2012, that has reference to older GRs, the BoS “decides on all matters regarding acquisition, management and disposal of any immovable property on behalf of the institutions”. The discussions of reviving the functions and powers of BoS is being studied by the department after allegations of misappropriation of government land surfaced wherein a leading educational trust in Pune signed a sale deal with a private developer, said sources.

While discussions related to BoS have taken place, no decision has been taken yet, said an official.

The GR from 2012 also mentioned that the BoS will ‘decide the proposals of BoG for raising and borrowing money on bonds, mortgages, promissory notes or other obligations or securities founded or based on any of the properties and assets of the institution or without any securities… all expenses incidental to the raising of money and to repay and redeem the money borrowed’. It also mentioned that the BoS will approve the fee structure for various programmes of study and take all necessary decisions for the welfare of the institutions.

While this GR could be revived immediately, it is pertaining only to technical institutions participating in the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) and covers autonomous and deemed government and government-funded ones such as the ICT Matunga, COEP, VJTI and Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli and government engineering colleges in multiple locations. For state universities, however, the government plans to bring in amendments in the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2015 for a similar policy.

A government official said that many of these autonomous institutions function as per the directions of the BoGs and rarely seek approval from the BoS. While there is one case of misappropriation from Pune, there have been other cases of gross negligence leading to encroachment of land in public universities, the official added. “The BoS is almost dormant. No decisions from the BoG are ever consulted with the BoS,” said the official, stressing on the need for making it more active.