The Hindu : Kerala News : Government decision unilateral: Valiathan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 21, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Government decision unilateral: Valiathan

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 20. The executive vice-president of the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, M. S. Valiathan, has said that the unilateral decision of the Government to take over the selection of directors of the Council's research institutions will do more harm.

In his resignation letter sent to the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, last Friday, Dr. Valiathan said that the Government was tampering with a transparent procedure for selecting the directors. He said that the Government had decided to alter the selection procedure for directors of three of the institutions under the Council after the candidates had been called for the interviews on October 27 and 28.

``It does not require much imagination to realise that the Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Science and Technology and other major funding agencies of the Government of India will think twice on taking over or extending major support to the Council's institutions when a transparent procedure for selecting directors is tampered with by the Government,'' Dr. Valiathan said.

He said that the Council's work under the Antony Government was not hindered by political and bureaucratic interference. He said the Cabinet decision to set up a new procedure for selecting the Directors of the research institutions of the Council surprised him. As a society registered under the Societies Registration Act with the Chief Minister as the President, the Council was obliged to carry out its functions as per the Memorandum, Rules and Regulations of the Society.

The Rules laid down the qualifications and experience requirements and selection procedure on the lines of those of reputed research institutions in India. ``In the present case (Rajiv Gandhi Centre, Tropical Botanical Gardens and National Transportation Planning and Research.), the Director's posts were advertised nationally as per our Rules because the terms of the incumbents are due to end shortly.

The closing date of applications is over. A Selection Committee has been set up with Prof. S. K. Joshi (former president of the Indian National Science Academy, former Director General of CSIR and former Chief of the DRDO Selection Board) as Chairman and equally eminent and internationally reputed scientists such as Professor Mohan Ram and Dr. Joseph Thomas as members.''

He said that the decision of the Government had caused severe embarrassment to him and the scientists in the Committee. ``It has removed transparency from the selection process and damaged the credibility of the Council, which may fail to attract nationally reputed scientists to its institutions hereafter.''

Dr. Valiathan said that it was inexplicable that the Government did not consult him while taking such as vital decision. ``I was privileged to be invited by your predecessor, A.K. Antony, to take charge of the erstwhile State Committee on Science Technology and Environment and its institutions which had deteriorated significantly over 25 years. Since I took charge in a purely honorary capacity over two years ago, the Council has been restructured on the CSIR model. Each institution, for the first time, functions through a system of Research Councils and Management Committees.''

``The research and administrative performance of the institutions has been toned up considerably even though much more remains to be done. At the Council level, several new initiatives have been taken such as Sasthraposhini in schools. A new School of Mathematics is being built with the support of the Department of Atomic Energy. None of these would have been possible without the support of the Government, which made sure that the Council's work was not hindered by political and bureaucratic interference.''

He said that he had written to the Chief Minister twice in September requesting that he be relieved of the vice-presidentship before December 31. But his communications were not acknowledged.

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