If political turmoil in the state of West Bengal was not enough to discourage students, one of the state’s most prestigious academic institutions, the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) is now caught in a whirlwind of controversies.
Listed among the 20 best institutions of study in the world, the 62-year-old institution has been functioning without an official director since July 1, 2012, resulting in an agitation by its staff, faculty, students and alumni demanding the appointment of a regular director in Delhi.
At a press conference in the city, the alumni, staff and students declared a silent protest on Saturday at Jantar Mantar, Allen Park and Parade Ground from 3 pm to 5 pm in Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore simultaneously.
“Even though the selection committee constituted by the HRD Ministry selected Partha Pratim Chakrabarti for the position in 2012, he has not been allowed to assume office without the mandatory clearance from the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Chakrabarti, along with two other senior professors of the institution, is suspected to be involved in what the media has termed as the CoalNet scam,” said Joy Deep Nath, member of the IIT-Kharagpur Alumni Association, Delhi Chapter.
The agitating staffers told Express that the clearance is linked to a CBI case of 2007, where the CBI recommended minor penalty for Chakrabarti. Interestingly, the CBI report also states that this report “would not be cited to be relied upon documents in departmental enquiries.”
“The CVC has used this “unreliable” report to reaffirm the minor penalty,” said Nath.
The CoalNet project was awarded to IIT-Kharagpur by Coal India Ltd. in 2001 for developing a software -- Coalnet -- to facilitate information sharing between the Ministry of Coal, Coal India Ltd and its subsidiary.
“However, the project suffered multiple delays, rising costs and also some suspected irregularities. The CBI had found that the three professors had manipulated records,” said Rajinder Singh, professor at IIT-Kharagpur.
Sources say that Coal India Ltd has spent close to about `700 crore on the project and not much work has happened in the three years, even though Chakrabarti got the final clearance of its second phase.
Since 2008, the IIT, on behest of the CBI and the CVC, has asked Chakrabarti three times about his understanding and role in the CoalNet case.