The controversy over the appointment of former MS University Vice-Chancellor VK Shrivastava, who resigned from the post in January, is yet to die down and the varsity is facing another concern – eligibility of a member of the search committee appointed to select his successor. A section of academicians and citizens have raised concerns that search committee member Atul Vaidya does not meet the required criteria. While stakeholders have chosen to remain anonymous, sources within the university management said that the matter over the eligibility of the three-member search committee has been raised before the Registrar and Board of Management. The University, though, is yet to take any formal action. Vaidya, who was the Director of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) at the time of his selection as search committee member, is currently serving as the V-C of Laxminarayan Innovation Technological (LIT) University in Maharashtra. “It has come to light that the ongoing Vice-Chancellor selection process at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSUB) may be facing a procedural irregularity due to a key discrepancy in the composition of the Search Committee. As per the statutory requirements, the Search Committee must include a director or head of an institution of national repute established by an Act of Parliament,” said an academician, requesting anonymity. “Dr Atul Vaidya was appointed to this committee while serving as the Director of NEERI. However, he has since assumed the position of Vice-Chancellor at LIT, Maharashtra — a state university established by the Government of Maharashtra, not by an Act of Parliament. Given this change in position, his continued presence on the Search Committee raises concerns regarding its legality and compliance with the university’s governing statutes,” the academician further said. MSU professors and citizens are now calling upon the university administration to take prompt action and prevent any procedural lapses that could compromise the credibility of the V-C appointment process. Vaidya, for his part, said he had informed the MSU authorities about the switch, adding he was willing to resign “in case, anyone has an objection” to his presence in the committee. A senior professor said, “We have already seen the controversy around the two-year tenure of Shrivastava that ultimately resulted in a writ of mandamus in the Gujarat High Court and his eventual resignation with the court hearing pending. We would not like a repeat of the same. Moreover, when Vaidya was appointed to the committee, around October last year, he was nominated by the Board of Management and the Executive Council and it had a lot of influence from Shrivastava, who was at the helm of affairs at that time.” The search panel includes, besides Vaidya, retired IAS officer A M Mankad as the Chairperson and University of Karnataka Vice-Chancellor Professor Battu Satyanarayana. While Satyanarayana was appointed by the UGC, Vaidya was appointed to fulfill the criteria that mandates the inclusion of one member, who is a “director or head of an institute of a highly national reputation established by the Act of Parliament”. The registrar of the University is also a member of the committee, without having voting rights. Professor Hitesh D Raviya, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Public Relations and Communications, MSU, said, “I do not have any official communication or confirmation regarding the composition of the Search Committee and I cannot comment on the issue.” When contacted, Vaidya told The Indian Express: “I was appointed in the search committee some time in November last year. I took up the post of V-C, LIT, in December. I had promptly informed MSU (Registrar) that I have switched over and am no longer the Director of NEERI. I have yet to hear from MSU. They have not told me that I cannot continue. In case anyone has an objection to my presence in the committee, I am willing to resign.” Vaidya added that the search committee has met twice online but is yet to shortlist any candidate for the post of V-C. “Contrary to people's opinion that I am close to some candidates, I am actually not familiar with anyone. Some candidates do call me up but the committee has not finalised or shortlisted anyone yet,” Vaidya said.
