Probe sought over Mumbai University’s renting vs owning gaffe

The University of Mumbai is again in the spotlight for another gaffe. The varsity has spent Rs 43.57 lakh towards renting 33 air-conditioners for a building in its Kalina campus over a period of 21 months from October 2019 to June 2021. This is twice the amount required to buy the same number of ACs. The information was revealed after some students and alumni filed an RTI query about the same.

As per the RTI response, MU management has been paying Rs 6,000 rent per AC per month to Chembur-based Nechmo Sales. This arrangement has allegedly been going on for the past seven years. Students allege that if the total money spent on rent since the past seven years is taken into account, it may run into crores. They added that they suspect a swindle as the arrangement does not make sense for the varsity financially.

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Ashish Dwivedi, a varsity alumnus and Mumbai president of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, who filed the RTI query, told mid-day that as per the information he has gathered, the ACs were rented in 2016-17 academic year during the tenure of Sanjay Deshmukh as the vice-chancellor. "I heard that the contract was still on, so I filed an RTI query asking for the bills. I was shocked to see the invoice furnished with the response for October 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021 period. This means that the university was charged rent even during the pandemic months when the campus largely remained unused. Is nobody watching and verifying these transactions? Or is someone facilitating these transactions on purpose? We need clarification," Dwivedi said.

Green Technology building at MU's Kalina campus where the rented ACs are installed. Pic/Shadab Khan

"This seems like a scam to me. If we consider the price for a 2-tonne AC as Rs 60,000, it would take Rs 19,80,000 to buy 33 of them. But here the varsity has approved Rs 43,57,386 towards renting the same for 21 months," he added.

Bill details

As per the approved bill for the period of October 2019 to June 2021, the actual cost towards the rent of the 33 ACs after certain reductions came to Rs 36,92,700. However nine per cent of central GST and state GST of Rs 3,23,343 each the total invoice value brought the total to Rs 43,57,386.

This, despite classes shifting online from the last week of March 2020 to October 2021.

Dr Ajay Bhamre, in-charge pro-vice-chancellor of MU, could not be reached. Despite several attempts by mid-day, no response was received from the deputy registrar-public relations as well.

An MU official on the condition of anonymity said, "The bill has been certified by both parties. However, the payment is yet to be made as far as I know. Previous few bills were cleared." The official refused to divulge any further information.

A D Sawant, former pro-vice chancellor of MU, questioned the varsity on how so many ACs were rented for such a long time. "It would have gone through the account and finance committee and through vice-chancellors during their term. I suggest a state-level audit be carried out on this. A treasure auditor should be appointed for the same. It looks like this transaction has benefitted someone and was done at the behest of someone, which needs to be investigated." He also demanded that other bills and transactions carried out and approved during the period be audited too.

Dealers in shock, too

Namdev Dalvi, a Borivli-based AC retailer, told mid-day, "It seems the university has spent a lot of money on renting the ACs. They could have bought the ACs instead. With each AC they get one-year free servicing, and a compressor warranty for five years. Further, if you buy an inverter, the warranty extends to 10 years which saves money spent towards maintenance. Besides, if you buy so many units, there are generally other discounts based on the brand you are opting for. Renting ACs for long periods is a bad option."

Another retailer from Andheri said, "Many companies even buy second-hand ACs in good condition to save money. This is the first time I have heard of someone renting AC at such a high cost for so many years. With the amount mentioned in the bill, they could have bought 40 to 50 brand-new ACs including taxes."

Rs 43.57L
Amount MU has been charged for renting ACs for 21 months

Rs 19.8L
Money it would have cost MU if it had bought even 33 high-end ACs

33
No. of ACs MU has taken on rent for one building