Hyderabad: Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTAU) vice-chancellor Aldas Janaiah on Friday said the university had secured around ₹30 crore towards seventh pay commission arrears with the support of Members of Parliament and had sought a special grant of ₹500 crore from the Centre for its development.Addressing a news conference at the Community College in Saifabad, Janaiah said the arrears pertained to 42 months between 2016 and 2019. He said the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) had informed the university in March 2024 that payment of the arrears was not feasible.Around ₹10 crore has been disbursed to retired faculty members, while all eligible teaching staff have received their dues.He added that the institution’s national ranking had improved from 37th to 19th following a series of reforms introduced by the present administration.He said eight senior officials had been appointed after he assumed office, noting that the university had functioned without regular officers for several years.The vice-chancellor alleged that the previous administration had leased out university land indiscriminately and that steps were being taken to reclaim it.He also said the previous administration had registered the university as a society, following which the Income Tax department issued notices amounting to ₹270 crore. The issue was later resolved through consultations at the national level, he added.Janaiah said central auditors had raised objections to several decisions taken by the previous administration and that the matter had been brought to the notice of the state govt.
