The North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA), Students’ Union (NEHUSU), and Non-Teaching Staff Association (NEHUNSA) have jointly demanded that Acting Vice Chancellor Nirmalendu Saha stop salary payments to Vice Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla, Registrar Omkar Singh, and Deputy Registrar Amit Gupta, citing their prolonged absence from campus.

In a letter, the associations stated that the three officials had been absent from the university headquarters for 130 consecutive days without proper authorisation. According to the associations, Shukla went on earned leave starting November 15, 2024, which was extended until March 2 but has not returned to campus since.

Prof Shukla exhausted all the leave he earned during his tenure before he absconded from the campus on November 1, 2024,” the letter claimed. Similar accusations were made against the Registrar and Deputy Registrar.

The associations have threatened collective action if their demands are not met, stating they would encourage members to “take earned leave for a few days, go anywhere they want and join virtually under some lame excuse without coming to the station.”

Citing constitutional rights to equality under Articles 14, 15, and 16, the associations argued that if central rules can be relaxed for top administrators, similar benefits should extend to all faculty and non-teaching staff.

The letter also requested that no official correspondence be routed through the absent VC and that all communications must go through the acting Registrar’s office only. They further demanded that Shukla pay standard rates for any use of university guesthouses and cover his own travel expenses.

The associations have called for disciplinary action against the three officials under the Central Civil Services (CCA) Rules of 1965.

Prof Saha is currently serving as Acting Vice Chancellor as the senior-most professor in the absence of Prof Shukla, in accordance with NEHU statutes.

Promotional | Subscribe KRC TIMES e-copy