Policy for Condemnation and/or Disposal of Movable Assets

1. Short Title & Commencement
   1. This Policy shall be called “Policy for Condemnation and/or Disposal of Movable Assets” of the University.
   2. This Policy shall come into force from the date of approval of the Board of Governors of the University.
2. Objective of the Policy
   1. To develop a mechanism, incorporate efficient & economic practices for Condemnation & adherence to relevant laws, regulations, safety and environmental considerations while disposal.
   2. To ensure proper documentation and accounting of Condemned Assets and the financial implications of their disposal.
   3. To establish cost effective structure for life cycle of goods and optimum resource utilization and reutilization.
3. Definitions
   1. “Act” means Uttarakhand Private Universities Act, 2023 (Act no. 2 of 2024).
   2. “AMC” means Annual Maintenance Contract.
   3. “Assets” means a Tangible or intangible asset of the University. Tangible Assets include machinery, equipment, furniture/ fixtures, IT Hardware etc. while intangible assets include Software, Licenses etc.
   4. “CMC” means Comprehensive Maintenance Contract.
   5. “Authority” means an authority of the University as defined in the Act or Statutes.
   6. “Committee” means duly Constituted Committee.
   7. “Condemnation” means the process of discarding the institutional movable assets which are unfit for use as per the decision of the Institute.
   8. “Constituent Academic Unit” means a College/School/Institution maintained & managed by the University.
   9. “Department” means the department of the University or its constituent academic unit.
   10. “Disposal” means the process of liquidating the assets which are unfit for use according to its value by appropriate authority after the condemnation.
   11. “EID” means Equipment Identification Data.
   12. “EMH” means Equipment Maintenance History.
   13. “E-waste” means electronic waste (or e-waste). Also commonly known as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) Electronics.
   14. “Officer” means officers of the University.
   15. “Ordinances” means ordinances of the University.
   16. “Sponsoring Body” means Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust.
   17. “Regulations” mean the Regulations of the University.
   18. “Statutes” means the statutes of the University.
   19. “University” means Swami Rama Himalayan University.
4. Scope of Policy
   1. This policy outlines the procedure for write-off, condemnation and disposal of Assets including capital assets, inventory and stocks purchased by the University from its funds or purchases in the Project. This policy shall also be applicable for Assets owned by the Sponsoring Body and used by the University.
   2. An Asset may be declared obsolete or unserviceable if the same is of no use to the University or when the Assets are beyond economical repair.  An Asset may be rendered obsolete or unserviceable in the process of upgrading or replacing University’s any Asset no longer in functional use due to any reason.  Under such circumstances the Asset be disposed of either under buy-back scheme or otherwise in the best interest of the University with approval of the competent authority.
   3. Every Asset irrespective of its cost has a specified serviceability life or period.  After that, it becomes unserviceable even though all measures are taken to get the Asset functional. Un-serviceability may be due to any one of the following reasons:
      • Wear & tear due to prolonged use.
      • Completion of Prescribed life. The Asset may be considered for condemnation when parts & service support is no longer available. A certificate from the manufacturer to be obtained to this effect.
      • Hazardous Assets: Further use of Asset may be harmful to health of human-beings.
      • Obsolete Assets in use but being replaced due to purchase of latest model.
      • Damage due to unforeseen situations such as Fire, natural calamity, accident etc
      • Beyond economical Repair. A certificate of beyond repair to be obtained from manufacturer or authorised service agency to be obtained.
      • Miscellaneous:
        • Mishandling or mischief on the part of the employee/end user, then the Assets need to be considered for Condemnation & the responsibility of the same be fixed.
        • Regulatory compliance.
   4. Any Asset purchased/used by University and purchases in projects shall be condemned/disposed-off with prior permission of the Sponsoring Body and as per provision of the Statues, Ordinances & Regulations as specified under the provisions of Section 10(v) of ‘The Uttarakhand Private University Act, 2023’ (Act No. 02 of 2024).
5. Condemnation CriteriaThe condemnation process typically involves inspection, evaluation, and documentation of the reasons for condemnation. Depending on the situation and regulations, condemned assets may need to be decommissioned, repaired, replaced, or disposed of in accordance with established procedures to ensure safety, compliance & efficiency.
6. Condemnation Process
   1. For making recommendations for Condemnation of Assets a Condemnation Committee comprising of minimum 05 (five) members shall be constituted by the Board of Management of the University. There can be various condemnation committees for different areas within SRHU viz. Hospital, Academic Units etc.
   2. The Chairperson of the Committee shall not be below the rank of Professor while the Manager, Inventory Management shall be the Member-Secretary of the committee. Representatives from various departments viz. Biomedical/IT/Electrical/Mechanical etc. shall be included in the committee for their expert opinion.
   3. The Condemnation Committees shall meet as and when required. The Condemnation Committee shall send its recommendation to the Registrar of the University who shall take necessary steps to get the recommendation approved by the appropriate authority of the University and the Sponsoring Body.
   4. If the Condemnation Committee is of the opinion that the asset has been damaged, mishandled, misused or being lost, the committee shall record the reasons in the recommendation report for appropriate action by the competent authority.
7. Condemnation & Disposal Procedure
   1. Head of Department of Constituent Academic Unit shall prepare a condemnation note and furnish the requisite information in prescribed Proforma for condemnation as provided in Annexure A to Annexure E on page no.7-12 for Assets of both Medical & Non-Medical nature containing therein Asset Identification Data (EID) with the descriptions, like name, model, serial number of assets, register no., name of the manufacturer, purchase date, purchase price, reason for condemnation, Asset Maintenance History (EMH) citing details like guarantee period of the asset, insurance, if any, AMC/CMC details, measures taken to get the asset functional, technical report of the engineers and also whether the asset is non-functional due to negligence, overuse, fraud or mischief on the part of the employee and additional information if any.
   2. In other cases, where the life period is not over or no life period has been prescribed or stipulated, the reason for declaring the Assets unserviceable should be clearly recorded such as may be normal wear and tear, excessive use in public interest, accidental fire, flood & other natural causes, damage due to insect, rats etc. However, the condition of the assets should still be thoroughly examined to see whether the same could be put to further use.
   3. The proposal of the condemnation of the Assets under consideration preferably in the prescribed form duly filled & signed by Head of Department shall be submitted to the Chairperson of the concerned Condemnation Committee who will then organize a meeting of the Condemnation Committee.
   4. The Condemnation Committee upon evaluation of the furnished information pertaining to the Assets to be declared obsolete/unserviceable/unusable on the basis of furnished information in Annexure A to Annexure E, shall declare the assets as obsolete, or unserviceable or unusable and order their disposal in the submitted prescribed Form. Committee shall physically examine the asset required condemnation
   5. After approval of the competent authority of the University, the Registrar shall forward a copy of the approval to the Material Management Department and Finance Department.
   6. The Material Management Department shall get the condemned assets removed from the concerned Constituent Academic Unit(s) or the department to the place earmarked for their temporary storage ideally within three days or at the earliest from the date of receipt of the copy of the condemnation approval. The Material Management Department shall ensure that the condemned assets bear a condemnation tag for identification purposes.
   7. E- Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 were notified in 2011 and had come into force since 1st May, 2012. Government of India in supersession of E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 vide G.S.R. 338(E) effective from 01-10-2016. Two categories of electrical and electronic equipment namely (i) IT and Telecommunication Equipment and (ii.) Consumer Electricals and Electronics such as TVs, Washing Machines, Refrigerators Air Conditioners including fluorescent and other mercury containing lamps are covered under these Rules.
   8. Towards the compliance of Rules & Guidelines as specified on para 7.7 above and disposal of the assets of nature Electrical, Electronics & Metal waste, an E- Waste Store has been set-up under Materials Management Department vide Circular No. SRHU/ Reg/Cir/ 2022-46 dated 29.11.2022 to store such E-waste material for its eventual disposal through authorized E- waste vendors.
8. Scrap of Consumable Assets
   1. During the day to day functioning either in the University and/or in any of its Constituent Academic Unit or Department, huge quantity of consumable assets is used. Subsequent to use, scrap remain in various forms, i.e. iron scrap, plastic scrap, brass scrap, aluminium scrap, empty containers, broken glasses, packing material, empty glass/plastic bottles, paper scrap, wooden scrap etc. The scrap, as and when created, should be referred to the Material Management Department who shall ensure dumping of the scrap in a designated place from where it can be disposed-off by auction or through entering into a contract.
   2. The Scrap usually comprising of Electrical and Electronic Assets, Hazardous Waste, Batteries etc. should be sold keeping in view the exact guidelines of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 & subsequent amendments under E-Waste (Management) Second Amendment Rules, 2023. Prospective bidders of such lots of hazardous waste/scrap batteries/e-waste should have requisite valid licence/authorisation on the date of e-Auction and on the date of delivery, as recycler/pre-processor agency.
   3. The scrap assets are disposed of to the vendors as per approved Rate (Rs) considering the actual weight of these assets or as per pre agreed upon terms.
9. Disposal of Condemned/Scrap Assets
   1. There shall be a Disposal Committee for disposing of the Condemned and Scrap Assets comprising of a member nominated by the President as the Chairperson, the Finance Officer or his representative, and the Manager, Inventory Management as the Member-Secretary.
   2. The Disposal Committee either through a tender or open auction or by any other means as deemed fit shall dispose of the condemned/scrap Assets.
   3. When disposing of the condemned Assets, the Disposal Committee shall obtain the scrap value, together with appropriate documentation to indicate that the assets have been disposed of as scrap.
   4. Copies of the invoice(s) of the condemned/ Scrap should be retained by Material Management Department and Finance Department for a minimum period as required by law.
   5. Under no circumstances, condemned assets should remain in use once the condemnation proceedings have been finalized.
   6. The Finance Department and Material Management Department shall ensure that condemnation and disposal of such assets are properly recorded in the University’s financial records and periodic statement of account.
10. Precautions for Disposal
    1. When disposing of any assets other than by destruction or scrapping, the following stringent precautions should be taken:
       • Assets must be checked to ensure they are safe at the time of sale or disposal.
       • A signed receipt must be obtained from the recipient (the owner/in-charge) accepting responsibility for the use only in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions and for ensuring further regular checking and maintenance.
       • The department using the assets must inform the Condemnation Committee of any known hazardous substances contained in the assets. These assets are classified as Special Waste and as such must be dealt with in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act of 1986.
       • Hazardous assets should be handled with utmost care and must be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Environment Protection Act 1986 so that no claim is established against the University in any court of law.
       • Specific precaution for disposal of “Medical Devices” should be taken. Similarly, assets relating to lab & I.T, stringent caution must be taken when disposing of obsolete equipment and ensure that the disposal will not lead to prosecution or payment of damages.
11. Written Undertakings
    1. The University should obtain a written undertaking from the new owner, if any, at the time of disposal. The recipient must give, in writing, that they are aware of latent or inherent risks. An undertaking along the following lines may be appropriate: “The recipient accepts responsibility for having the asset checked before use and thereafter maintained appropriately to ensure its continued safe and effective use and for following any instructions, advice or warnings issued by the manufacturer or the institution which is allowing the recipient to use it”.
    2. This does not apply to the sale or donation of Medical Equipment or other Equipment which are strictly forbidden.
12. Waste Management Aspects
    1. When disposing of scrap and unwanted assets, it must be understood that Health Providers have specific responsibilities under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 in particular the Waste Management of hospital and IT products.
    2. The safe disposal besides the legal precautions will usually include:
       • Removal of lead acid, Nickel Cadmium or other alkaline batteries for separate disposal.
       • Evacuation of Cathode ray tubes to prevent the risk of explosion (Usually by breaking off the nipple at the back of the tube).
       • Removal of in-line fuses.
       • Cleaning and decontamination.
       • Removal of all means to power up the device. (i.e. on hard wired devices the mains cable should be cut-off).
       • Removal of all hoses able to pressurize a device (if driven by gases).
       • Once these precautions have been taken, the asset may be thrown in the skip to be taken to the local landfill site or incinerated where appropriate.
    3. The University reserves the right to interpret, alter, amend, modify, cancel or withdraw provisions without notice.