MULTAN, May 20: The chief minister secretariat has reportedly been waiting for over a month for Punjab governor's approval to initiate an inquiry into the alleged involvement of the vice-chancellor of Bahaudin Zakariya University in gross financial and administrative irregularities.

Sources in the provincial education department told this reporter that the CM secretariat had received three applications against the VC, Dr Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry. One of the applicants was dean of the faculty of engineering of the same university while the other two were from the general public.

However, all three applicants levelled more or less identical allegations pertaining to malpractice in BZU affairs under the sway of Dr Chaudhry. The allegations included a dubious purchase of 56 acres of agricultural land by the VC in Khanewal, 260 illegal appointments against various cadres of the university and embezzlement of development funds.

The provincial education department and the Anti-Corruption Establishment conducted a preliminary probe into the allegations and found the matter fit for a regular inquiry.

As the post of VC was of Grade 22, both the education department and the ACE had to seek permission of the governor through office of the chief minister to proceed with the inquiry.

Sources said that the CM secretariat had sent the file (Reg-21-20/2004/795) to the governor to get his approval for a regular inquiry. The governor office, however, sent back the file with three queries: Whether the provincial secretary education had thoroughly scrutinized the allegations? Could a Grade 20 official conduct an inquiry against a Grade 22 official? Could only the VC be held responsible for malpractice, if any?

The CM secretariat reportedly sought reports from the departments of law, regulation and education to answer the queries raised by the governor office. Sources said all three departments reported that a Grade 20 official could conduct an inquiry against an official higher than his rank if authorized by the competent authority (in this case the governor) and that any illegal decision of the university syndicate could also be scrutinized.

The CM secretariat again sent the file to the governor house in April to get his approval for a regular inquiry against the VC. This time, the CM secretariat reportedly proposed formation of a committee comprising Saeed Ahmed Khan, former provincial S&GAD secretary and at present an OSD, additional educational secretary Chaudhry Muhammad Akram and retired Punjab University dean Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal to conduct the inquiry.

But a governor house decision on the matter has been pending for over a month. Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, ACE director-general Brig Aslam Ghuman (retired) also said that his department was also waiting for approval of the authorities to initiate the inquiry against the BZU VC. The four-year term of Dr Chaudhry in the VC office is due to expire on July 16.