Patna, June 9: Governor Devanand Konwar has returned the Bihar University Amendment Bill 2011 in a move that could lead to a fresh showdown between Raj Bhavan and the government which are at odds over the appointment of vice-chancellors to the state’s universities.

The Bill, passed in the March session of the Assembly, aims at curtailing the powers of the chancellor with regard to higher education.

No comment was forthcoming from the governor’s office. HRD principal secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, who is in New Delhi, said: “I have no idea about the governor’s office returning the Bill.”

HRD sources said the Bill was returned by the governor — who is also the chancellor of universities — as he deemed it to be a money Bill and not an ordinary Bill. The sources said Raj Bhavan’s contention is that the government should have consulted the chancellor before passing a money Bill.

The move has escalated the tension between the ruling alliance and Raj Bhavan. Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhary, speaking to The Telegraph, said Raj Bhavan had taken a wrong step. “The power to decide the nature of the Bill — whether an ordinary Bill or a money Bill — lies with the Speaker,” he said.

This is the second time that the governor has returned a Bill pertaining to the universities on the ground that it was a money Bill. During the last Assembly session, the Speaker had overruled the governor’s objection that it was a money Bill. The legislation returned by the governor then pertained to Patna University.

The Bihar University Amendment Bill 2011 aims at bringing transparency in the functioning, appointment and use of funds by the university. The Bill seeks to end the autonomy of the chancellor in the appointment of vice-chancellors, who, according to the proposed legislation, will be chosen by a search committee.

This panel will consist of the HRD principal secretary/ HRD secretary, any existing vice-chancellor from the universities in the state, one person appointed by the governor, a member nominated by the University Grants Commission chairman, a member nominated by the state government, director of any technical institution and a vice-chancellor from any law university in the country.

There has been no regular appointment of vice-chancellor in five universities, which are being run by acting VCs. Recently, the government put a restriction on the financial powers of the VCs of JP University, Chhapra, BN Mandal University, Madhepura, BR Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, LN Mithila University, Darbhanga, and Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic & Persian University, Patna. These VCs were appointed by the chancellor in January this year.