A report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed mismanagement of funds, delayed projects and unapproved establishments, highlighting a lack of supervision from the University.
A searing report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed severe financial mismanagement across major higher education institutions, including Delhi University. The report highlights a ₹2.01 crore shortfall in fee collection, along with delayed projects and tens of crores wasted on unapproved initiatives.
Major DU colleges like Ram Lal Anand College, Shivaji College, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh (Evening) College failed to collect the University development fee of ₹600 per student, which had been increased from ₹300 in 2011, resulting in a shortfall of ₹2.01 crore.
All three colleges managed to collect some fees from students; Ram Lal Anand College collected fees only from first-year students, resulting in a shortfall of ₹71.99 lakh from 12,000 students. Shivaji College collected only ₹300 instead of the required ₹600 from students during the years 2012-13 to 2020-21, resulting in a shortfall of ₹99.49 lakh from 33,162 students. Lastly, Shaheed Bhagat Singh (Evening) College collected ₹300 until 2016-17, leading to a shortfall of ₹32.30 lakh.
The CAG report further discovered mismanagement in the way Ram Lal Anand College attempted to make up for the deficits. The college used funds intended for institutional and student welfare to settle UDF arrears. This reflected the weak monitoring of the University over the colleges.
In another finding of the CAG, it was found that a project for a new building was approved at Zakir Husain Delhi College in 2009 with an estimated cost of ₹33.40 crore. While this was revised multiple times, the building remained unused despite the expenditure reaching ₹78.12 crore by November 2022.
Construction began in 2017, years after the project was appointed due to administration issues, pending approvals, unauthorised construction, and poor inter-agency coordination. The college split the project into two separate packages without seeking fresh approvals and improperly utilised interest earned from grants to cover funding gaps. The structure has experienced persistent basement flooding and recurring cracks, so the formal handover is pending as of July 2025.
The reports also found an unauthorised expenditure of ₹3.20 crore by Gandhigram Rural Institute, Dindigul, on a centre in Delhi. The institute was established in 2017 without any approval from the UGC or the Ministry of Education.
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Image Source: Devansh for DU Beat
Vanshika U. Singh