HOD appointments withdrawn in Himachal college after information commissioner flags irregularities

Shimla, Jun 6 (PTI) Authorities of University Institute of Technology (UIT) in Himachal Pradesh withdrew orders on HOD appointments in its departments after the State Information Commission pointed to alleged irregularities in it.

"It was an internal arrangement of the UIT and has been withdrawn," said Rajinder Verma, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). UIT is an engineering college of HPU.

Any experience certificate issued by the college director or the head of departments (HODs), he told the PTI.

Information commissioner SS Guleria, in his May 25 order, said the HOD appointments were done "with a motive to give undue benefit to some faculty members which can be used to acquire additional advantage/benefits in seeking higher promotion".

He also said the appointments were made without any provision to appoint HODs and without the approval of a competent authority.

The information commissioner issued the order on an RTI plea of Vinay Kumar, a resident of Nadaun in Hamirpur district.

On the RTI plea, the information commissioner directed that appropriate action be initiated by the registrar of HPU and the matter be put up before the competent authority for proper action".

He also asked the UIT Director AJ Singh who is also the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the institute to provide complete and correct information to the applicant within 15 days.

In his reply, the PIO said that there are no provisions in HPU ordinances that clearly define the rules for appointing HODs.

The position of HOD is not equivalent to the chairman of the department and the college director has no power to appoint an HOD or assign charges of heading a department, he said.

The PIO said there is no copy of experience certificates available in the office record of those who were appointed HODs.

The possibility of having taken an experience certificate "directly" cannot be ruled out, he said.

The RTI applicant pointed out that under the HPU ordinance and statute, there was no provision for the post of HOD.

He sought information regarding the appointment of HODs in the departments of Applied Sciences and Humanities, Electronics and Communication, Information Technology, Computer Science Engineering, and Civil and Electrical Engineering, and also sought the section or clause of the ordinance under which the appointments were made. PTI BPL SKY SKY