Fake Fees, Real Corruption at FRA
• Scholarships Looted, Students Betrayed
• Sprouts SIT Demands Dismissal of FRA Chairman
Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098
Sprouts News Special Investigation Team (SIT) has exposed a massive corruption scandal involving FRA Chairman Vijay Achaliya. Allegedly, he approved fake fee proposals, suppressed student complaints, and enabled fraudulent institutions to siphon off public scholarship funds. SIT demands his immediate dismissal and a full audit to protect students and public interest.
In a shocking revelation, the Sprouts News Special Investigation Team (SIT) has uncovered an extensive corruption racket within the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) of Maharashtra. The primary figure under scrutiny is Vijay Achaliya, current Chairman of FRA, who is accused of deliberately suppressing complaints from stakeholders—especially students—and facilitating a large-scale fee approval scam worth thousands of crores.
According to information accessed through the Right to Information Act (RTI), Achaliya allegedly colluded with several fraudulent private educational institutions. These institutions submitted falsified documents, fake audit reports, and incorrect staff salary data as part of their annual fee hike proposals. Instead of conducting mandatory verifications, FRA under Achaliya approved these proposals without any scrutiny, bypassing established legal procedures.
Fraudulent Approvals Trigger Scholarship Misuse and Financial Exploitation
The Fee Regulatory Authority is responsible for evaluating and approving tuition fee proposals from unaided engineering, pharmacy, medical, and other professional colleges in Maharashtra. Institutions are required to submit affidavits and audited data justifying their financial claims—primarily related to staff salaries and infrastructure costs.
However, the Sprouts SIT investigation reveals that numerous institutions submitted forged data over several years. Instead of penalizing them, FRA continued to grant approvals, resulting in artificial inflation of tuition fees. Consequently, these institutions secured illegitimate scholarship funds from the Social Welfare, Tribal Development, and Minority Affairs departments of the government—amounting to several hundred crores.
Sprouts SIT has also documented that despite purchasing a government vehicle specifically for college inspections in 2019, not a single physical inspection was carried out by the FRA Chairperson. This further substantiates the claims of gross negligence and willful misconduct.
Suppression of Complaints, Delay in Grievance Redressal Raises Alarms
Perhaps the most damning evidence uncovered by Sprouts News Special Investigation Team is the systematic suppression of complaints filed by students and concerned stakeholders regarding fee manipulation. Several complaints that should have triggered inquiries were allegedly buried under bureaucratic inaction.
From 2016 to 2021, FRA did not even constitute a mandatory Grievance Redressal Committee, as required by law. Though a formal announcement was made in 2021, the committee only began functioning in 2024—a delay that points to deliberate non-compliance. Furthermore, in cases where decisions were eventually made, Achaliya failed to take enforcement action, effectively neutralizing the committee’s purpose.
This blatant disregard for regulatory norms, combined with years of inaction, has led to widespread financial exploitation of students and misappropriation of public funds earmarked for education and welfare.
Sprouts SIT Demands Immediate Action Against FRA Chairman
Holding Achaliya directly responsible for enabling systemic fraud and undermining institutional integrity, Sprouts News Special Investigation Team has formally petitioned the Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra for his immediate dismissal. The SIT has urged the government to launch an independent forensic audit of FRA records from 2016 onward, and initiate criminal proceedings where necessary.
Legal experts and education policy analysts are now calling for structural reforms within FRA, including digital transparency in fee approvals, mandatory third-party audits, and stricter accountability mechanisms for office bearers.
Growing Public Pressure for Clean-Up in Education Governance
This scandal has sent ripples across Maharashtra’s higher education landscape, especially at a time when student affordability and access to quality education remain top priorities. Stakeholders argue that unless swift action is taken, public trust in autonomous regulatory institutions like FRA will further erode.
The Sprouts News SIT report, supported by verified RTI data and testimonies from affected students, serves as a wake-up call to policymakers. As demands grow for a full investigation and prosecution of those involved, the onus is now on the state government and higher education ministry to act decisively.
Sprouts News Special Investigation Team (SIT) Exposes Dubious Purchase of Innova Vehicle
In another alarming discovery, the Sprouts News Special Investigation Team (SIT) has revealed that the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) of Maharashtra had procured a government vehicle—a Toyota Innova—four years ago, purportedly for field inspections of private colleges across the state. The vehicle, a significant public expenditure, was meant to facilitate on-ground assessments of physical infrastructure and compliance verification at engineering, medical, and pharmacy institutions.
However, according to records accessed by Sprouts SIT under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the Innova car was never used for its intended purpose. Despite several colleges being approved for steep fee hikes over the years, not a single inspection visit was officially recorded using the said vehicle. This suggests complete administrative negligence or possible misuse of government resources.
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Related Article: Fee Regulatory Authority: Thousands of Crores Scam Exposed.
The situation raises a critical question—why was the vehicle purchased if inspections were never conducted? Stakeholders argue that the purchase was symbolic at best and deceptive at worst, serving to create an illusion of regulatory diligence while rubber-stamping approvals for institutions submitting questionable documentation.
Moreover, the lack of inspections directly contradicts the regulatory mandate of the FRA, which requires thorough physical verification before any fee hike is sanctioned. By failing to utilize the vehicle for its designated purpose, FRA Chairman Vijay Achaliya stands accused of gross dereliction of duty and wasteful expenditure of taxpayer money.
The Sprouts SIT report underlines this issue as a critical indicator of systemic failure within the fee regulation process. In the context of wider allegations—ranging from unverified audits to student grievance suppression—the unused Innova car symbolizes a regulatory body that has abandoned transparency and accountability.
Sprouts News SIT has demanded that the state government include the vehicle procurement and its usage records as part of the broader audit and investigation into FRA’s operations. The misuse of public resources, especially under a framework meant to safeguard educational integrity, calls for immediate corrective action and enforcement.
