Delhi government orders special audit of 12 DU colleges over irregularities

Delhi government orders special audit of 12 DU colleges over irregularities

The Directorate of Audit has appointed an eight-member team to conduct the audit, following a status report submitted by a high-level committee.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Delhi government orders audit of 12 DU colleges
  • Audit follows CM Atishi's financial misuse claims
  • Colleges must provide records and support audit

The Delhi government has ordered a special audit of 12 Delhi University (DU) colleges, fully funded by the state, following allegations of financial irregularities raised by Chief Minister Atishi. The audit aims to investigate claims of misuse of public funds.

The Directorate of Audit has appointed an eight-member team to conduct the audit, following a status report submitted by a high-level committee. The audit department, in its order issued on September 27, directed the Directorate of Higher Education to ensure that all relevant records from the colleges are made accessible to the audit team.

"I am directed to convey the approval of the Competent Authority for conducting a Special Audit on the examination of issues related to 12 colleges (fully funded by the Delhi Government) affiliated with the University of Delhi, as per the status report of the High Level Committee," the order stated. It also instructed the colleges to provide logistical support to the audit team.

This move follows last month's joint meeting of DU's Academic Council (AC) and Executive Council (EC), where a 10-member committee's findings cleared the colleges of any financial misconduct. The university has since requested the state government to consider the committee’s recommendations and called on Atishi to retract her letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in which she proposed de-affiliating the 12 colleges.

In December 2023, Atishi flagged potential financial irregularities involving hundreds of crores of rupees and suggested either merging the colleges with the Delhi government or transferring them to the Centre, thereby ending state funding.

(With inputs from PTI)