Shillong, June 15: Teachers of the North Eastern Hill University (Nehu) today sought an inquiry against vice-chancellor Prof. S.K. Srivastava following allegations that the minutes of a meeting on hill areas' special allowance (HASA) were "forged".

The Nehu Teachers' Association has also written to President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the visitor to the central university, its president Prof. X.P. Mao said in a statement.

The association today held its general body meeting to discuss the "forging" of the minutes of the university's academic and executive council meetings held recently.

"The recent instance of the vice-chancellor informing the ministry of human resource development that the executive council has 'humbly accepted' the direction of stopping payment of hill areas' special allowance in its 48th emergent meeting is a total distortion of the actual minutes," Prof. Mao said.

He said the actual minutes circulated in the university said "the council resolved that the matter be placed before the academic council".

In contrast, he said the registrar along with the vice-chancellor informed the ministry that the executive council has repealed the ordinance pertaining to payment of the allowance, which is untrue and fabricated.

"This amounts to wilful tampering of the minutes of university authorities like the executive council and academic council that misled the ministry and the office of the visitor in writing back to the vice-chancellor that the direction of the visitor to repeal the ordinance for payment of HASA is accepted from May 15, a fictitious date, as no such decision was taken the way it is stated in the ministry's letter dated June 12," Prof. Mao said.

He said the association has written a letter to the President "exposing" Prof. Srivastava and said the so-called acceptance of the direction of the visitor by the executive council of Nehu cannot be used fictitiously either by the vice-chancellor or the ministry to compel the vice-chancellor to repeal the allowance.

Prof. Mao pointed out that the letter sent from the ministry on June 12 makes a "serious travesty" of facts and "wrongful representation" in a "manipulative" manner for which the vice-chancellor alone is responsible.

In the letter to the President, he said a request was made to initiate an inquiry against the vice-chancellor.

The association's meeting today was also of the view that the vice-chancellor has lost the "moral right" to continue in office, he added.

Moreover, Prof. Mao said the association has decided not to cooperate with the vice-chancellor until he and the ministry correct their "irregular and immoral" action.

As per the Nehu Acts and Statutes, he said there is no provision to repeal an ordinance.

At least not less than three consecutive emergent academic council meetings were convened in which every time the members had unanimously resolved to maintain status quo on the allowance as this has been a provision specifically formulated in the ordinance of the university and was duly ratified by the visitor.

The allowance was introduced in the university with the view to attract brilliant and meritorious teachers and staff and retain them in the university to promote an environment of quality education and research in this region, Prof. Mao said.