CAG finds 74 University of Calicut buildings unnumbered, constructed without permission

It also included compliance audits of the Fisheries, Health and Family Welfare, Scheduled Castes Development, and Water Resources departments.

Who it concerns: Government of Kerala, specifically the Higher Education Department (University of Calicut), Department of Co-operation, Fisheries Department, Health and Family Welfare Department, Scheduled Castes Development Department, and Water Resources Department.

What the auditor found

• CAG found that the University of Calicut's distance education programmes in 2020-21 lacked UGC recognition, affecting 32,651 students.
• CAG reported that 41 out of 145 research scholars at the University of Calicut did not submit their theses despite receiving substantial funding.
• CAG noted that advances drawn by officials at the University of Calicut from 1975-76 to 2023-24 worth ₹6.79 crore remained unsettled.
• CAG identified a loss of Government of India assistance of ₹6.85 crore in the Health and Family Welfare Department.
• CAG found wasteful expenditure of ₹84.32 lakh in the Scheduled Castes Development Department due to construction on land without ensuring ownership transfer.
• CAG reported suspected misappropriation of ₹1.05 lakh of Government money in the Fisheries Department.
• CAG found that outstanding loans and shares in co-operative societies totaled ₹1,173.29 crore, with ₹492.94 crore remaining unrecovered in 315 test-checked cases.
• CAG noted that uncollected audit fees amounted to ₹16 crore, with ₹6.63 crore pending for over five years.
• CAG observed that 7,172 audit certificates for co-operative societies were delayed by two to 22 months.
• CAG recommended that the University of Calicut ensure its programmes are UGC recognized and that the Government ensure timely submission of accounts to the Kerala State Audit Department.

Also in the document

• CAG reported that the University of Calicut's NIRF ranking dropped from 54th in 2020 to 89th in 2024.
• CAG found that 74 out of 169 buildings at the University of Calicut had not been assigned building numbers, indicating they were constructed without permission from Local Self-Governing Institutions.
• CAG noted that 3,291 co-operative societies were non-functional and 686 were under liquidation as of March 2024.
• CAG reported that 147 arbitration and 9,047 execution cases in the co-operative sector remained pending for over five years.