Shipping ministry gives clean chit to IMU on recruitment of staff

Chennai:

The Union Shipping Ministry has given a clean chit to the recruitments byChennai-based Indian Maritime University stating that there had been minor procedural inadequacies, which were resolved.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Union shipping secretary P K Sinha said that a committee appointed to look into the alleged irregularities in recruitment of 31 IMU staff highlighted some procedural inadequacies. “These are minor issues. There are no excess recruitment beyond the sanctioned strength,” he said.

IMU is a central university that comes under the shipping ministry and it started the first recruitment drive in September 2012.

Ruling out any cancellation of the recruitment, Sinha said that there may be procedural inadequacies in selection process but these are in no way violations or irregularities.

Talking of the procedural lapses, the bureaucrat said that the recruitments were done without the sanction of the government. The approval was only accorded by the executive committee, he added. He said the other issue which was pointed out by the committee was that the ratio of permanent staff and contract staff was not considered during the selection process.

To a query on former vice-chancellor G Raghuram’s resignation over differences with the shipping ministry on the faculty selection, Sinha played it down. Interestingly, the appointments by Raghuram came under the scanner of shipping ministry after there were reports of procedural lapses.

Sinha said that he had met all the faculty recruited by Raghuram. “They are highly qualified and suited for the job. The selection will not be cancelled,” he said.

To a query on alleged reports that the faculty were asked to sign a letter stating that they agree to be redesignated as contract employees, Sinha said that this was not the ministry’s decision and he will look into the issue.