AHMEDABAD: The Union Government has given an assurance that the due
process of consultation and nomination is being followed in appointing
the new directors of the Indian Institutes of Management where the
terms of the present incumbents are coming to an end later this year.
The assurance was given by the Union Human Resource Development
Ministry to IIM Ahmedabad director Bakul Dholakia when he contacted the
HRD secretary and other senior officials following an advertisement
issued by the Ministry for applications for the appointment of a new
director. Prof. Dholakia is among the three directors of the IIMs whose
term is expiring in a couple of months.
Prof. Dholakia said he had been “misquoted” in a report appearing in
a section of the press on Wednesday criticising the Union HRD Ministry
for issuing the advertisement. The advertisement, he said, was part of
the “normal procedure” followed by the Government in any appointment,
including that of the appointment of the chairman of the Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation, and there was nothing wrong in it.
Consultation process
However, he said, his concern was over the possible abolition of the
“process of consultation” in the appointment of the directors, as was
being followed all these years, to which the HRD Ministry had given an
assurance that though the “procedure” had been changed since 2002, the
process of consultation and the option of nomination had not been
dropped.
Pointing out that the change was effected during the NDA regime in
2002, when the Government withdrew the powers of the Board of Governors
of the IIMs to appoint the “search committee” to look for a suitable
candidate for the posts of directors, Prof. Dholakia said the present
Government was following the same process adopted five years ago.
“There is nothing to feel aggrieved about the issuance of the advertisement,” he said.
Search committee
He said that as per the Memorandum of Association of the IIMA, and
also other IIMs in the country, the power to appoint the chairman of
the board of governors and the directors was vested in the Central
Government, but since 1970 the Centre had “voluntarily” given the power
to the respective boards. However, in 2002, the power was taken away
from the board and the Centre appointed the five-member search
committee for the appointment of the director.
He said it automatically did not mean that the Government would not
follow the convention of appointing a director from amongst the
academicians.
“No guiding norms”
He admitted that there were no guiding principles for the
appointments and anyone could be appointed if approved by the Cabinet
Committee of Appointments, but he hoped that the “conventions” of the
IIMA would continued to be honoured.
He pointed out that since the inception of the IIMA in 1960, only
academicians were appointed as the director and with the exception of
the noted economist I.G. Patel, in 1982, all other directors were
appointed from amongst the faculty members.
Source by hindu.com
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