In his address to the inaugural Conference of Governors last year, President A P J Abdul Kalam singled out Uttaranchal Governor Sudarshan Agarwal for praise. Citing Agarwal’s “welfare-oriented initiatives” in health and education through a foundation the Governor set up in 2003, Kalam told the gathering: “Many of you, I am sure, will be doing similar impressive missions in your states.” Since then, Agarwal’s foundation has raised Rs 6.8 crore in donations. Now Agarwal has told The Sunday Express that he has decided to quit. He has reason to. His foundation, the Him Jyoti Foundation, which has Raj Bhavan as its official address for donations and lists the Governor’s official email as its contact email, has raised questions of constitutional propriety. Few here are willing to go on record but several officers The Sunday Express spoke to expressed reservations over the propriety of the Governor chairing a foundation which solicits donations. At least three Ministers are said to have raised objections at a recent meeting too. Agarwal, appointed by the NDA government, had served as Rajya Sabha Secretary General for 12 years. The foundation’s list of donors (see box) could be the envy of any NGO: over Rs 50 lakh from PSUs like ONGC, GAIL, BHEL and NTPC; Rs 25 lakh from Swami Ramdev’s trust; over Rs 19 lakh from a clutch of PSU banks, and lakhs from local and national business houses. What has raised eyebrows in official circles is how government departments have lined up to pitch in. From Uttaranchal Tourism Board (Rs 10 lakh) to Rs 16,000 from the state Industrial Development Corporation. In fact, the Congress state government, in its latest budget, earmarked Rs 50 lakh as aid to the Him Jyoti School which the foundation runs. This, over and above, the 10 acres the state gave free of cost to the school. This “school,” currently being run from rented premises, has 23 girl students in Class VI. A Rs 4.5-crore complex for this is being constructed on land provided by the government. “Anybody who has any kind of a stake in Uttaranchal is a donor,” said a senior officer who did not wish to be named. “Not many can refuse when the Governor of a state happens to head the foundation.’’ One of the donors is even an IRS officer with a CBI inquiry pending against him. When contacted by The Sunday Express, Agarwal said: “My work has raised some hackles. I don’t want any unseemly controversy around the office of Governor so I am demitting the office of President of Him Jyoti Foundation sometime in mid-May. I don’t want this question of propriety to damage the cause. I am advised by my conscience to step away. I have been very scrupulous and conscious of the fact that my functioning as Governor does not come into conflict with my work done for the society.’’ So far, the foundation has disbursed scholarships to students, including five “militancy-affected” girls; 20 for vocational programmes; children of Indo-Tibetan Border Police and state police personnel. “I am a very unusual Governor,” Agarwal said. “I pay for my food and my guest, I travel economy. I don’t have a single TA bill in three years,’’ said Agarwal. “The foundation has nil administrative expenses. You can go through our audit records. We have put funds worth Rs 6 crore in a six-year RBI Bond which gives an eight-percent interest rate.’’ Asked why state government departments figure as donors, Aggarwal said, ‘‘None of the state departments have made any donations. We brought out greeting cards and many of these departments bought these cards from us.’’ Asked how the state government sanctioned a sum of Rs 50 lakh to Him Jyoti School, the Governor said, “It is perfectly all right for state to aid genuine causes. The state government had earlier sanctioned Rs 1.7 crore for the IMA Blood Bank in Dehra Dun which is shining example of Public Private Participation.’’ Asked about donation from an officer against whom a CBI probe in pending, Agarwal said: “He hasn’t been suspended. What’s wrong if he donates?” The Governor said that he would, after quitting as the foundation’s president, “be associated as an individual.” He has decided on his successor: J C Pant, a retired IAS officer and currently chairman of the state Administrative Reforms Commission. Pant is on the Him Jyoti committee which selects students for scholarships. Governor Sudarshan Agarwal told The Sunday Express: • It’s not the property of Sudarshan Agarwal, this is an initiative to serve the people of Uttaranchal. • My oath of office says that I will take care of the people of Uttaranchal. I thought I could do something via this foundation. • I don’t want any unseemly controversy around the Office of Governor so I am demitting the office of President of Him Jyoti Foundation sometime in mid-May. Other people should take over now. I don’t want this question of propriety to damage the cause. When Governor is President, donors are:PSUs and Govt banks • Rs 41 lakh: ONGC • Rs 10 lakh: NTPC • Rs 7.9 lakh: Punjab National Bank • Rs 2 lakh: GAIL • Rs 5.5 lakh: State Bank of India • Rs 5 lakh: Central Bank of India n Rs 2.24 lakh: BHEL • Rs 1.99 lakh: Oriental Bank of Commerce • Rs 1.6 lakh: Indian Airlines • Rs 48,000: Airports Authority of India (AAI) • Rs 40,000: BSNL (Dehra Dun) • Rs 17,500: LIC • Rs 24,000: Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd • Rs 25,00,000: Swami Ramdev’s Divya Yog Mandir Trust State government • Rs 50 lakh: Budget outlay • Rs 15 lakh: Uttaranchal Tourism Board, Information Department, Uttaranchal Power Corporation, District Magistrate (Tehri), Uttaranchal Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal Ltd raghvendra.rao@expressindia.com
