With HRD Ministry yet to accept his resignation, IIT Director RK Shevgaonkar on Wednesday reached out to his faculty members, staff and students through a parting note saying the current stand-off is a “transient”. Shevgaonkar in an e-mail message said that towards the end of the year some unforeseen situations developed and he had to decide to step down from my position.
“Nevertheless, this is a transient phase in the long ,illustrious history of IIT-Delhi. IIT-Delhi is on constant rising path and I am sure the New Year will bring many unprecedented achievements to the institute,” he said. The e-mail comes at the backdrop of HRD Minister Smriti Irani and IIT-Delhi Chairman Vijay Bhatkar calling on the President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday.
A row has erupted over the premature resignation of Shevgaonkar allegedly due to “pressure” from HRD Ministry to accede to two demands — to provide the IIT ground for a cricket academy Sachin Tendulkar allegedly wants to open and to pay nearly `70 lakh to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, a former IIT-Delhi faculty, as his “salary dues” between 1972 and 1981.
While Tendulkar denied the allegations, Swamy confronted the matter by pointing faulty procedures followed for a MoU between IIT-Delhi and Mauritius Government. IIT-Delhi, however, said that International Institute of Technology Research Academy (IITRA) is not an extension campus of IIT-Delhi but an independent Research Academy named IITRA, Mauritius” and that the institute’s role is that of advisory only with no financial commitments and stands all legal aspects.
The faculty members on Tuesday had requested Shevgaonkar to withdraw his resignation and later in a statement the IIT-Delhi faculty members asked the government to stop interference in the operational autonomy of IIT-Delhi (and IIT system in general).
“Dear Colleagues, Staff and Students, this my last New Year Message as the Director of IIT Delhi as I have formally resigned and waiting for my relieving orders.” He further went on to appreciate the institute stakeholders stating that last year was practically a year of continuation of developmental activities at IIT-Delhi.
He said there is a need to create a positive image about the internal functioning of the institute to the outside world. “Disagreement is an essential part of a healthy academic environment. However, a care needs to be taken that the internal differences are not exploited by the outsiders to affect our functioning. let us work to make IIT-D a model institute for transparency, trust, accountability and academic and research excellence,” Shevgaonkar said.
Shevgaonkar also talked about major new facilities like the swimming pool and green initiatives commissioned within the premises of elite institute. He also took the opportunity to mention that last year the Institute slipped on the global ranking by few notches and a quick corrective effort on that front needs to be the focus for the new year.