Shimla, Jan 20
Selling of Public asset to various private entities is new norm of present day order. However even conspiracy and crony capitalism cannot be ruled out in such big deals being signed overnight in highly opaque manner.
A charge sheet was moved against three private persons before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Solan on Jan 18, 2021 for an alleged conspiracy hatched by them to take over a school run in the campus of Dr YS Parmar University Solan without taking the latter’s consent.
Background of the alleged matter
To provide quality education to kids of employees working at Dr YS Parmar University Nauni the University handed over a plot of land inside the campus to open a School to a Delhi Chinmaya Sewa trust (DCST). An agreement was executed in 1992 between the University and DCST whereby a three storied school building along with 10 acres land in the campus of the University was given to DCST on lease for a period of 99 years on a nominal lease money of Rs 1 per year but no lease deed was actually executed and registered.
The purpose of handing over the school to DCST, which was started by the University in 1984 as a primary school, was to upgrade the school to Senior Secondary level with better management.
However in the Year 1992 by cheating and forgery this school was handed over to some private persons. A case was registered by the Anti Corruption Bureau and State Vigilance in 2014 on the basis of preliminary enquiry conducted by the Bureau. The investigation revealed that some private persons from Delhi have taken over the management of the school by cheating. Now it is being run as a boarding school on commercial basis in collusion with officers of the University.
Investigation further disclosed that the then Head of DCST entered into an agreement with the accused private person in 2000 as a result of which the management of the school got transferred to that person without the knowledge of the University.
This person surreptitiously inducted his own relatives and acquaintances in the society management meant to run the school and gradually turned the school into a commercial enterprise by constructing hostel accommodation.
The actual purpose of the school was to educate the children of the University staff, which got forfeited as the assets of the University was handed over in opaque manner for private gains.
Investigation also disclosed that the University had filed a petition before Court against DCST that they have sold the school to a third party without the knowledge and consent of the University in gross violation of the agreement. Incidentally, DCST had also gone to the Court to take back the school from the third party.
