HILLONG: The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Meghalaya, has come under the scanner for the manner in which advertisement was floated for the post of Registrar of NIT, Meghalaya, and the alleged favouritism shown by the Institute towards the serving Registrar Dibya Jyoti Goswami.
In a complaint letter addressed to Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma by one Michel Lyngdoh here on Monday, it has been alleged that the authority of NIT, Meghalaya has been silently trying to fill up the post of Registrar.
Lyngdoh stated in his letter that the advertisement for the post was published in few papers in August, 2013, to ensure limited publicity and circulation, and no advertisement was put up on the website of Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) or even in the employment news.
“Time allotted for submission of applications was also kept limited with a motive to regularize the post of the serving Registrar, who is a junior official,” Lyngdoh said, adding that the minimum experience required to become a Registrar is eight years, whereas the serving Registrar has only six years of experience.
Lyngdoh also claimed that the Institute might attempt to ‘buy time’ by not holding the interview to allow their candidate (Goswami) to earn some more experience; or by holding an interview and rejecting all the applications and allowing him to continue so that by the time the next advertisement is published, he would have earned the required experience to be eligible for the post of the Registrar of NIT, Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, in a direct allegation against the serving Registrar, Lyngdoh stated that he (Goswami) had been recommended for disciplinary action by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) while he was associated with the parent organization, IIT Guwahati, from where he made a ‘backdoor entry’ by serving as an officer on special duty (OSD) in NIT, Meghalaya since 2011.
However, brushing aside all allegations, Director of NIT Meghalaya, Prof. Dilip Kumar Saikia, said that advertisement was put up in every national and local newspaper and even publicized in the institute’s website.
“The serving Registrar is only serving for a temporary period until the post of Registrar is filled up,” Prof. Saikia said.
Prof. Saikia clarified that the interview dates will remain as it is on November 23 and there is no chance of delaying the process to buy some time for the sake of one candidate.
“The whole purpose to conduct the interview is to look for eligible and experience people in this field and when one is found, we will not hesitate to appoint him/ her,” Prof. Saikia added.
Meanwhile, reacting to the charge of the action by the CVC, the serving Registrar, Dibya Jyoti Goswami, said that the allegations were baseless and unfounded.
“I am only serving as a temporary Registrar and it is not up to me to comment on why the advertisement was floated only in a few papers or done for a short duration,” he said, adding that NIT, Meghalaya has appointed him based on his qualifications and eligibility and not through any backdoor appointment.
Prof. Saikia also stated that he was not aware of Goswami’s recommendation for disciplinary action by the CVC.
“We had appointed him based on the recommendation made by the Director of IIT, Guwahati,” he added.