Irregularity in IIT

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Really?
Here is some news. Is it time we revamped our IITs IIMs ?
Source : May 5, 2011

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Scanner on IIT Madras for flouting rules
Scanner on IIT Madras for flouting rules
- Director defends registrar appointments and pension scheme switch BASANT KUMAR MOHANTY

New Delhi, May 4: IIT Madras has come under scrutiny for illegal appointment of officials and financial irregularities, after similar breach of rules were detected at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bhubaneswar.
Documents in the possession of The Telegraph show the institute has flouted norms in the appointment of two registrars and has illegally allowed its employees to switch from a contributory provident fund-cum-gratuity scheme to the more beneficial General Provident Fund-cum-Pension scheme, causing losses to the institute.
The principal accountant-general, Tamil Nadu, has raised questions over the appointment of Usha Titus and K. Panchalan as registrars as they did not fulfil eligibility criteria. Titus held the post from 2002 to 2007 and Panchalan from 2007 to 2009.
The auditors have found that Titus was appointed in violation of rules that require the candidate to have at least 15 years of experience in educational administration. Titus had only eight. Panchalan was appointed despite not having 55 per cent marks in postgraduation, which is the minimum educational requirement.
IIT Madras director M.S. Ananth, during whose tenure both appointments were made, has been asked by the audit authorities to give an explanation.
Documents accessed under Right to Information Act (RTI) show the audit authorities have taken up the matter with the HRD ministry which, in turn, has written to the institute to explain the lapses and specify what action has been taken to rectify them.
The audit authorities have also detected violation of government instructions in allowing IIT Madras employees to switch from the contributory provident fund scheme to the General Provident Fund. The Centre’s department of personnel and pensioners’ welfare had issued an order barring such a shift from September 30, 1987. Irregular payments to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore have been made to the pensioners till March 2010 as of the result of the violation, according to the accountant general.
HRD additional secretary Ashok Thakur has written to Ananth, the IIT director, asking the institute to take action on the registrars and the pension scheme. “This ministry has written to your institute regarding these issues on several occasions. We are yet to receive a reply on any of the issues raised. You would agree that this is a matter of serious concern. We cannot afford to be negligent about audit matters. We are immensely concerned that an institute of national importance like IIT Madras has not taken any action,” Thakur has said in the letter.
Asked about the registrars, Ananth said the selection panel had given a relaxation to Titus and Panchalan. “Titus is an IAS officer with excellent training and background. The selection panel relaxed the experience criteria in her case. Panchalan did not have 55 per cent marks in PG but had done PhD. The 55 per cent requirement does not count once you have a higher degree,” he said.
On the pension scheme, Ananth claimed he had taken the decision with the approval of the IIT’s board of governors, the institute’s top decision-making body. “In the earlier scheme, the employees stand to get less financial benefits. As recognition of their services to the IIT, we wanted to give better benefits to the employees and allowed them to switch to the (general provident fund) pension scheme. We are still corresponding with the audit (auditors) on the issue,” he said.
The Telegraph has been highlighting irregularities in the IITs’ appointments and finances. IIT Kharagpur has allegedly flouted norms in the appointment of at least five assistant registrars and three assistant professors in the past 15 years, as has the newly established IIT Bhubaneswar in recruiting faculty members.​

 

[B.Krishnamurthy]

I do not find anything wrong in switching over to a scheme which is beneficial to the employees.A few years before,one SV (a nice gentleman) was a tenant in my house.
When I asked him about the monetary benefits that may accrue to him at the time of his
retirement from IIT chennai after completion of more than 30 years of service,I was shocked
to hear from him that he was on contract appointment which may not entitle him to any monetary benefit at the time of retirement.It was sheer CRUELTY.
When India was under British Rule,We had 'CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS' which clearly stated that Government do not accept any responsibility in looking after widows once the Government Servant die while in Service or thereafter and it was the responsibility of individual Government Servants to provide for the maintenance of his widow. Govt Servants were eligible only for Contributory Provident Fund Scheme.After independence
the concept of family pension was introduced for a limited period of 5 years.It was to the
credit of late TTK who was Finance Minister in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet who introduced lifelong family pension to widows from the year 1964..The rules have been liberalised so much that even if a Government Servant dies after putting service of one day,his widow is assured of lifelong family pension with certain conditions.
Mr.P.Chidambaram who is born rich is never sympathetic to ordinary Government employees and introduced a new scheme for new entrants from october,2004 whereby Government will not take responsibility for payment of monthly pension but restrict with their contribution every year to a fund to be kept with
Financial Instituitions.
IN INDIA every instituition is switching over from contributory provident Fund Schme to Pension Scheme.LIC of INDIA,All BANKS are now having only Pension Scheme.
The funny thing is the Principal Accountant General,Tamilnadu and the high ranking officer
in the HRD Ministry are having Pension Facility.It would have been proper if those high ranking officers had advised IIT chennai to get post facto approval of any authority which they deem fit to get the Pension Scheme introduced by the Director IIT,Chennai regularised.
In the year 1965,when my brother was having cancer and found that he has not elected to come under pension scheme,I took his signature in pension option Form before his death
and submitted a petition to The President of India through proper channel that the widow
should be given an option to elect the pension scheme.At every stage I found everyone was sympathetic but afraid to give their views and I used to tell them to forward the petition to higher level officers and not to with hold submission to the President's office.Though my
brother's family did not get the benefit,I was happy to note that Government Of INDIA
did issue an order in the year 1969 to the effect that widows can excercise option to come under pension scheme within 6 months from the date of death of Government Servant after returning the Government share of contribution to PF with interest.
I had dealt with pension cases of ex-Portugese officers and I found that their scheme was the best.Every Government servant was to get " Last pay drawn" as Pension after putting some minimum service(could be 30 years),but every Govt Servant had to serve the Govt
till the age of 65 years.
In most of the cases,officers who had no prospects of getting further promotion or increase in salary,preferred to go on invalid pension after putting minimum service for retirement under invalid pension.Though I took every opportunity to brief Secretary level officers to consider bringing in such a scheme in Government of India(with Employees contributing a share from their salary),the proposal was not appreciated stating that Govt is having large number of employees and it could be a huge financial burden for the Govt.I was wondering how it was possible for ex portugese regime in GOA to implement such a scheme for their employees.Of course the number in exportugese regime till the year 1962 would have been far less.