Agro experts petition governor seeking safeguards like forensic financial audit to prevent corruption in VC selection for agricultural universities

Concerned that appointments to senior positions in agricultural and allied universities are becoming vulnerable to political lobbying and currency influence, some 40 prominent alumni of Bengaluru’s University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) have asked Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to introduce a “forensic financial vetting system” and other measures to bring transparency in the selection of university vice-chancellors.

“There is a growing concern that appointments to senior positions in universities are becoming vulnerable to political lobbying, monetary influence, patronage and other extra-academic considerations that undermine merit, institutional credibility and public trust,” said the petition signed by TN Prakash Kammaradi, noted agro-economist and former chairman of Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission, and well-known environmental organization AN.

“Left unchecked, these factors risk turning the sacred academic selection into an exercise in opaque manipulation that compromises the process at its very inception—namely, the search and selection committee stage,” the petition states.

They suggested including a clause mandating that all proposed members of the search committee disclose their qualifications and sign a legally binding declaration absolving them of any professional or personal association with the applicants in the past five years. They also demanded that the government’s nominee in such a committee should be an eminent agricultural scientist of national standing outside Karnataka, completely unconnected with local institutions or state administration.

They further suggested that a specialized investigative process must be put in place to audit the bank transactions of all shortlisted candidates, their spouses and close dependents.

“This must include a forensic audit of any sudden liquidation or alienation of high-value movable or immovable property (including property, precious metals or high-value investments) made within the 12 months prior to the tender to detect and eliminate corrupt monetization,” they said.

They propose that a whistleblower mechanism be created to allow for the reporting of credible information regarding lobbying, monetary influence or other unethical practices associated with the tendering process.

Considering that the existing Law on Universities of Agricultural Sciences is outdated and structurally ill-equipped to combat current forms of institutional corruption, they demanded an immediate legislative amendment to eliminate the deficiencies.

They further suggested that the selection must have a rigorously quantifiable evaluation matrix including proven academic milestones, high-impact peer-reviewed publications, and farmer-focused innovations in the field. “Shortlisted applicants should submit a vision document to students, faculty and farmers that outlines how they propose to strengthen the institution academically, administratively and socially while making it more vibrant, credible and responsive to the needs of agricultural and farming communities,” they said.

To ensure transparency, they demanded that once the appointments are complete, the committee’s proceedings, score sheets and final recommendations should be preserved and made fully available under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Pointing out that search committees had been formed to select vice-chancellors of agricultural universities in Shivamogga and Dharwad, they demanded that these committees be reconstituted in accordance with the safeguards and principles outlined by them.

Others who signed the petition included CL Lakshmipathi Gowda, former Deputy Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), HV Nanjappa, former Dean (Postgraduate) and Registrar, UAS-B; V. Veerabhadraiah, former Director of UAS-B Extension and former President of UAS-B Alumni Association, MA Shankar, former Director of Research, UAS-B, and K. Narayana Gowda, former Director of UAS-B Extension.

Published – 27 May 2026 20:33 IST