IIM-A forms committee for talks with govt

With the Board of Governors meeting of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on April 3 resolved with the decision of initiating talks to the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), a four-member high-level committee has been created by the Institute empowering it to resolve the issues with the Ministry by ways of dialogues.

Meanwhile, with the development on Thursday in Supreme Court in which the Bench observed that the six IIMs now can be part of the ongoing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and they are being served notice in this respect, it is expected that IIM-A will be filing a legal affidavit with the Court on the day of next hearing, scheduled on April 16.

A well-placed source in the Institute told Business Standard on Thursday," Keeping in mind of various stakeholders of the Institute including faculty members, alumnus, industry representatives, a four member Committee has been created which has been empowered to talk to the Ministry and if required other Government agencies to sort out the issues related to autonomy and fee cut. Though Director of the Institute, Bakul Dholakia has been kept out of this Committee, N R Narayanamurthy, Chairmanof the Board may head this Committee while a member from the FacultyCouncil also has been inducted in the cell."

However, while Dholakia denied to comment on the persons inducted in the Committee, it has been learnt that he himself opted to remain out of this cell as since last six months, he remained on the eye of the storm.

The source also said that in last two days, the Institute has informed the Ministry about creation of the Committee and showed green signal that at the convenience of the Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi and the Ministry officials, the Committee will be ready to present it self before any discussion table. Ministry, however, is yet to acknowledge the information flowed in from IIM-A's newly created committee.

But sources in the Ministry said that the Ministry expects to meet the Committee only after the PIL is finalised or disposed in the Court. "On Thursday, the Government pleader has told the Supreme Court that since five of the six IIMs have decided to implement the fee cut and the sixth IIM, in Ahmedabad wanted to discuss the matter further, there the ongoing PIL should be dismissed which is a clear indication of what is there in the Ministry's mind.

However, the Court did not take any decision in this regard rather invited the IIMs to join the PIL," said the source in IIM-A.

Though it has not been yet confirmed whether IIM-A will join as a party to the PIL following admission of the impleadment application filed by the petitioners, Sandeep Parekh, Anish Mathew and Saikat Sengupta, it has been reliably learnt that IIM-A may file a legal affidavit, which is presently being drafted before the Court on next Friday detailing its standpoint, apart from other related detail and will join as a party to the Litigation only if the proposed talks with the Ministry does not become fruitful.

"In the Board resolution it was clearly mentioned that the Board will seek legal recourse only if the talks do not sort out issues and it seems nothing will start before the elections while the Court will be closed for two months starting from second week of May, thus giving more time to the IIMs, especially the bigger three IIMs to finalise their mode of operation in this regard," added the source. Murthy could not be reached for his comments inspite of several attempts made by Business Standard.