‘One crore library fees remain unclaimed with DU’

New Delhi: Besides classrooms, libraries are the practice ground and research mines for academicians and students. However, Delhi University (DU) has a different saga where the students are now digging deep into the financial trail of lapsed library security deposits using thorough study of RTI law and unearthing serious administrative irregularities.

DU law students Mohit K. Gupta and Vikas delved deeper into the administration of the library’s functioning and found that an amount of Rs 1 crore — which is the refundable library fee that was submitted by students at the time of admission in the past five years — is lying with the varsity.

The varsity’s reply to several RTIs filed to enquire about the library security fee deposited and refunded during 2012-2016 is indicative of administrative lethargy.

“While the fee receipt issued by law faculty does provide the aggregate of total fee charged, without writing the amount charged towards the refundable library security, the schedule of fee contained in hard copy of the prospectus has been discontinued since 2014. Hence, students are clueless whether they are entitled to any such refund,” Vikas said.

The data reveals that while the library security refund for faculty of law is only at a maximum of 2 per cent with one Law Centre-II at nil per cent in the last five years, the department of education has returned 72 per cent of what it received as refundable deposits. Delhi School of Economics and Faculty of Management Studies returned 25 and 72 per cent of refundable deposits respectively.

“This is a complete case of red-tapism whereby the students are made to go from office to office for Rs 500 and the burden increases when the fee receipt is not available. A student not possessing the fee receipt is not considered to have paid the library security deposit. Strangely, students cannot sit for final semester exams without getting library clearance,” quoted Mr Gupta.