Delhi's Higher Education Minister Atishi on Saturday directed the secretary (higher education) to institute an inquiry into the alleged irregularities of government funded Delhi University's 12 colleges, officials said.

Atishi said that there have been "major procedural irregularities" and the colleges appointed 1,897 employees -- 939 teaching and 958 non-teaching posts -- without the Delhi government's approval.

"Major procedural irregularities have surfaced. The colleges appointed a staggering 1,897 employees -- 939 teaching and 958 non-teaching posts -- without the Delhi government's approval, violating clearly established government procedures and rules," she said.

The minister directed the secretary to identify and take strong action against the principals and officials responsible for creating illegal posts, including recovering salaries since 2015 of illegally appointed staff members.

"These colleges are funded by the public exchequer and, therefore, must be held accountable for any misuse of funds," she said.

Atishi said that the lapses include spending hundreds of crores from the public exchequer.

"Contracts worth crores for security and sanitation work were executed without adhering to General Financial and violated accounting norms and the approved "Pattern of Assistance" by the Delhi government," she said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.