Important documents missing from BHU

TNN, Sep 9, 2010,VARANASI:

At a time when the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is making preparations to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of its founder Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya by unveiling a series of programmes starting this year, a centre named after the great visionary and aimed at promoting ethics and human values is still searching for the documents related to its establishment in the university.

The startling revelation has come from none other than the coordinator of the centre while replying to recent queries made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act that indicate that the Malviya Centre for Ethics and Human Values (MCEHV) that came into existence on March 25, 1991, has no records to show the details of the approval for the establishment of the centre passed through the executive council (EC) of the university. Similarly, the records of the permission by R P Rastogi, then vice-chancellor of the university, are also not available at the centre.

It may be mentioned here that Awadesh Dixit of BHU had asked for relevant information under the RTI Act regarding the date of establishment of MCEHV and details of the approval by EC and then V-C for the permission to establish the centre in the university.

In reply, the office of the registrar (development), BHU, vide letter no. R/dev/RTI/M 03-416/12902 dated September 1 this year, has revealed that the centre has no records of approval from the EC and permission of then V-C for the establishment of the centre, citing replies through letter (ref no. MMAK/I-52/10-11 dated August 25, 2010) written by professor Kamalsheel, coordinator of the centre.

Later, talking to TOI on Thursday, Kamalsheel, who took charge as the coordinator of the centre in June this year, said that efforts are being made to trace the related documents at the centre.