The Council for Scientific and Industrial research ( CSIR) had issued orders to withhold gratuity of retiring employees of Central Institute of Mining and Fuel research (CIMFR) besides other laboratories up to the gross amount paid to them as honorarium from the service projects undertaken by them till March last year.
The notice to this effect ,issued by the controller of administration of CIMFR here on June 1, 2022 , has created a flutter among the scientists who receied honorarium..This order of controller of admi distraction comes within a weeks time following visit of a high level fact finding committee from CSIR that visited here to get first hand report .
Though none of the scientists want to come on record on this issue a senior scientist under condition of anonymity said," the decision has been taken following directives of CSIR top administration".
According to available reports, CIMFR has distributed over Rs.17.89 crores as honorarium to the scientists providing technical services and consultancy on different projects in-between 2016 to 2021.
The CSIR in June 21 has lut a hold on payment of honorariums . Then it had directed all the directors and heads of different CSIR laboratories to put a hold on distribution of honorarium among staff under any project on hold till the inquiry with immediate effect and a committee was constituted to hold inquiry into alleged irregularities .
The order was passed and inquiry was passes following complaint of alleged financial irregularities by RTI activist Ramesh Rahi made to PMO.
Rahi had raised objections over payment of honorarium that run into crores of rupees being paid to the scientists over the annual salary and allowances of their entitlement according to grade.
Rahi in his complaint had claimed that when scientists were appointed to carry out research in their respective fields and the projects undertaken by them were part of research activities , paying them consultancy many times higher than their actual salary was destroying the scientific temperament of this research institutes under the CSIR .
Former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi also endorsed Rahis' complaints and has requested the PM to initiate an inquiry into the alleged corrupt practice of institute.
Rahi said , more stringent step is needed to be taken in this regards. By just holding the gratuity is nothing to happen as the gratuity money is too less than the actual payments made .