DU faculty members told to return 'wrongly' hiked salaries from 1996

New Delhi: Thanks to an issue that has arisen due to lack of clear communication between the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and Delhi University, close to 300 faculty members of the varsity may have to part with money they earned earnestly over the last twenty years.

A circular issued by the MHRD, dated Match 24, 1999, had clarified all doubts regarding implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission.

Accordingly, more than 300 lecturers and readers at DU, who had five years of experience on January 1, 1996, were given an increment in salary, bringing it to Rs 14,940.

However, today – 22 years after the Fifth Pay Commission was implemented – the DU administration has claimed it made a mistake and is asking the 300 plus faculty members who were benefitted to return their hiked salaries.

Failing to do so, the faculty members would have to let go of their pension fund, the administration said.

One of these 300 faculty members is Prof Hansraj Suman, who said that their salaries were being paid at the end of each month on the basis of the Sixth Pay Commission.

"However, the university administration later informed us that an additional increment has been given to teachers. Therefore, the additional amount would have to be return back to the administration.

"Moreover, it has also told the superannuated professors of their respective colleges that their pension will be put on hold until they return the additional amount given to them," Prof Suman said.

He further said that a teacher of political science department at Aurobindo College had to returned more than Rs 4.5 lakk to be entitled to get his pension.

The professor added that some teachers, whose hiked salaries over the last 22 years was not too high, had returned the additional amount to administration and can avail the pension.

However, those whose salaries were hiked considerably are on in the lurches. Many of these teachers are now running pillar to post to avoid losing out on their pension.

The professor further said that the increments given to the teacher was 22 years ago, and this year's recovery order of the recovery has stirred a hornet's nest among the teachers of various colleges.

Even the college principals are not able to decide what solution they will resort to, because they too are entangled in this problem.

A delegation of teachers is expected to soon meet Vice-Chancellor Yogesh K Tyagi seeking a solution to this matter.