The Institute for Social and Economic Changes (ISEC) Board of Governors has become defunct with its own chairman Prof G Thimmaiah bringing an injunction order not to hold any meeting.
The irregularities in the financial affairs of the institution had reached the Upalokayukta. However, the enquiry was stayed by the High Court based on a petition from Thimmaiah.
Dr T N Bhat, member of the board of governors, had filed the complaint with the Upalokayukta against the then director of ISEC, Prof Binay Kumar Pattnaik, accusing him of violating the institution’s byelaws and clearing tenders for works in violation of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act.
Petition before HC
Pattnaik appeared before the Upalokayukta and resigned as director of ISEC in February 2015. Later, chairman Thimmaiah also appeared before the Upalokayukta for an enquiry. He later moved a petition before the High Court on the grounds that the office of the Lokayukta did not have the powers to enquire into the affairs of the Institute for Social and Economic Changes. The High Court stayed the Lokayukta enquiry into the financial irregularities of ISEC, an institution with over 60 per cent grant-in-aid funding from the State government.
Dr Bhat says Pattnaik was appointed director in July 2013 by former governor H R Bhardwaj. Since the governor is the president of ISEC and the appointing authority, the resignation should have been forwarded to him.
“Prof Thimmaiah accepted the resignation of Prof Pattnaik within 24 hours without any authority to do so. Presently, the administration of the institution is run by the in-charge director Prof M R Narayana for the past three months, who
has no executive and financial powers.
When the board of governors sought to convene a meeting, the chairman moved another application before a lower court and got an injunction on eight board members, including former IAS officers A Ravindra and S S Meenakshisundaram, restraining them from compelling the chairman to hold the meeting. Because the board is not functioning, the appointment of search committee for selecting the full-time director is delayed,” Prof Bhat told Deccan Herald.
Research activities
He said many development and research activities had not been progressing for the last one year.
Former director of ISEC, Prof Gopal Kadekodi, who is also one of the members of the board of governors, said not having a full-time director affected the administrative functioning of the institution. “When I was the director of ISEC, a Ramakrishna Hegde chair was established. It is vacant now and the appointment of professor for the chair is the responsibility of the board. Another chair called V K R V Rao chair was created in 1991 for which Dr Manmohan Singh donated Rs 1 crore. Some eminent people had occupied this chair, which is also vacant now,” he said.
When asked what forced him to bring an injunction restraining the board of governors from seeking a meeting, Thimmaiah declined to comment.
DH News Service
Published 02 May 2015, 20:11 IST