Fresh allegations against Gujarat University ex-VC over ₹32 crore works

Ahmedabad: Fresh allegations have emerged against former Gujarat University vice-chancellor Neerja Gupta, with claims that works worth more than ₹32 crore were approved without adequate discussion before the university’s Executive Council and that details of one of the works were omitted from the meeting agenda.

According to reports, works worth ₹32.31 crore were included in a proposal dated May 2, 2025, and subsequently approved in July 2025. The details of the work listed at serial number 40 were allegedly missing from the agenda circulated to Executive Council members, with the list moving directly from serial number 39 to 41.

The works were allegedly awarded to JP Structures Pvt Ltd, while Octers was reportedly involved as a consultant. Questions have also been raised over the procedure followed for approving the projects and whether the required university bodies had discussed the works before they were sanctioned.

Another issue concerns the minutes of a May 20, 2025, meeting of the Board of Management and Executive Council. Congress leader and former Senate member Indravijaysinh Gohil has alleged that seven work-related matters were discussed during the meeting, but two additional matters that had not been discussed were subsequently included in the minutes without the knowledge or approval of the members.

According to the report, Piyush Patel was not the in-charge registrar when the meeting was held. Paresh Prajapati was reportedly serving as in-charge registrar at the time. However, when the minutes were uploaded, Patel was serving as in-charge registrar, and his signatures appeared on the documents, raising questions about the process.

Gohil has alleged that the university’s decision-making bodies were kept in the dark while contracts worth crores of rupees were awarded. He has also questioned the procedure under which a May 20 meeting allegedly approved decisions relating to a construction committee meeting that was scheduled for July 2.

The allegations are part of a wider set of claims concerning Gupta’s tenure at the university. Gohil has also raised questions over other projects, including a brain-mapping laboratory project, and alleged financial irregularities in the handling of university grants and consultancy payments.

Gujarat University in-charge vice-chancellor Dr Jagdish Joshi said that the university had taken note of the allegations concerning financial irregularities and that a retired High Court judge-led committee was investigating the matter.

“Some issues concerning financial irregularities have come to light. It has emerged that works worth around ₹32 crore were allocated without discussion or knowledge,” Joshi said, adding that the committee had been conducting its inquiry for around 22 days and was expected to submit its report within two months.

Joshi further said that documents relating to the allegations, along with the report of an earlier committee, had been handed over to the retired judge-led panel. He said there appeared to be a missing serial number in the records, but whether it was an inadvertent omission or involved another issue would be determined by the inquiry committee. DeshGujarat