THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A move to ensure more autonomy for the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation by lifting government control has drawn flak from employees. Reconstituting the institute’s governing body and subsequent approval for a re-drafted Memorandum of Association, Bylaw and Service Rule, have invited severe criticism.
The GIFT, jointly controlled and managed by the state and central governments, was formed by upgrading the Centre of Taxation Studies. It was done based on a Tripartite MoU between the state and central governments and GIFT. As per the Memorandum of Association, the governing body should be constituted by the state government.
Allegations have now surfaced the new governing body - constituted without the knowledge of the state or Central governments - approved the new Memorandum of Association, Bylaw and Services Rules, without obtaining prior permission from either the central or state governments, as warranted by the existing Bylaw ad Tripartite MoU.
The GIFT employees, including the academic and administrative staff, have already approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, who is also the chairman of GIFT, seeking their immediate intervention.
“As per the re-drafted Memorandum and Bylaw, the government’s powers were taken away and conferred on the governing body. The GB has been given the power to constitute a new governing body, appoint the chairman and director, create posts, fix salaries, make appointments, approve accounts, annual reports, frame rules and regulations with regard to service conditions and ownership of land and building,” sources said. Being an establishment fully funded by the Central Government -which provided financial support of `33 crore - lifting government control over administrative matters may not stand legal scrutiny, they said.
Though a high-power committee formed by the new governing body submitted its recommendations for new service rules before the government, the latter is yet to issue approval for the same.
Allegations rubbished
GIFT Director D Narayana, termed the allegations a misrepresentation of facts. He told Express the service rules were framed as per the High Court directives. He said the HC had pointed out inconsistencies about the Memorandum of Association, and that the controversy was created by vested interests. As per the tripartite agreement, onus is on the government to make GIFT an autonomous institute. “The new governing body was constituted in 2016. Why such a controversy now? The new service rules were framed by a high power committee, chaired by Justice M R Hariharan Nair with Professor Vijayakumar, VC of Bhopal National Law University as member. It was constituted by the governing body after HC remarks on lack of service rules. It has submitted its recommendations before the government. Now the onus is on the government to approve it,” he said.