The minister of state for higher education said the human resources development ministry will take action against the acting chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education, or AICTE, if an enquiry proves that he had been simultaneously drawing both a government salary and a pension from the University of Delhi, without informing and taking prior government approval.
Her comments come on the heels of a 17 December Mint report that Ram Avatar Yadav, who has been actively lobbying to be made chairman of AICTE, faces unanswered questions from the ministry’s own vigilance department over his dual compensation.
“I spoke to the chief vigilance officer and he told me that he has asked AICTE to comment. We will wait for the AICTE to comment. Let these charges be proved, and we will take some action,” said the minister, D. Purandeswari. “Arjun Singhji is also there as cabinet minister. I am sure he will take some decision.”
AICTE, which regulates private engineering and business schools, falls under Purandeswari’s direct supervision. AICTE has been at the centre of many allegations of corruption in how it approves the functioning and expansion of private institutions.
“Now that this is in the public domain, let’s see what action the government takes,” said Brinda Karat, a member of CPI(M) politburo as well as member of Parliament’s standing committee on human resources development. Yadav, who has avoided commenting all week on the allegations that surfaced in an unsigned letter, told Mint twice on Monday at an AICTE conference here that he would respond to questions. But he didn’t return subsequent multiple phone calls or text messages left on his mobile phone.