Nagpur, 21 June (HS): The University Grants Commission has listed 157 universities that have failed to appoint the Lokpal (Ombudsman), and has threatened to initiate action against these universities.

The defaulter universities include 108 state (government), 47 private, and two autonomous (deemed to be) universities. The list includes seven universities in Maharashtra. Laxminarayan Innovation Technology University, National Law University at Nagpur, and Maharashtra Animal Husbandry and Fishery Sciences University (MAFSU) in Nagpur. LIT has been granted the status of an autonomous university very recently.

Many prominent universities are in the list of defaulters announced by the UGC. They include Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University for Mass Communication, Bhopal; Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Bhopal; Jawaharlal Nehru Agriculture University, Jabalpur; Nanaji Deshmukh University of Veterinary Sciences, Jabalpur; Madhya Pradesh University of Medical Sciences, Jabalpur; Raja Mansingh Tomar Music and Arts University, Gwallior; Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Agriculture University, Gwallior etc.

The number of universities from different states in the list are : Andhra Pradesh - 4, Bihar - 3, Chhattisgarh - 5, Delhi - 1, Gujarat - 4, Haryana - 2, Jammu and Kashmir - 1, Jharkhand - 4, Karnataka - 13, Kerala - 7, Meghalaya - 2, Odisha - 2, Rajasthan - 7, Sikkim - 1, Telangana - 3, Uttar Pradesh - 10, Uttarakhand - 4, and West Bengal - 14.