Taking its clean-up drive in higher education a step further,the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has issued a chargesheet against former All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) head R A Yadav. Initiating disciplinary proceeding against him,the ministry can now push for termination of his service. Yadav was suspended by the ministry after the CBI last year exposed a corruption scam in which the entire top brass of AICTE was found involved. In its chargesheet,the ministry has slapped three charges on Yadav: not taking action against three subordinate officials who demanded Rs 15 lakh in bribes from a Faridabad-based engineering institute (Echelon Institute of Technology),misleading the ministry saying there were discrepancies in the application submitted by this institute and for wrongly advising the institute on the issue. Recently both the Central Vigilance Commission and the CBI recommended a major penalty against him. The CBI,meanwhile,has also filed another case against Yadav,making him the main accused. The case relates to recognition given to Kalpana Chawla Institute of Engineering and Technology,Patiala. A case of cheating and another under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been lodged against Yadav and three others,H C Rai (Advisor,AICTE),Rabinder Randhawa (Deputy Director,AICTE) and Om Dalal (Regional Officer AICTE,New Delhi) last year for allegedly demanding money for processing the case of increase in intake of seats at Echelon. The complaint lodged with the CVC as well as the HRD Ministry had led to a full-fledged inquiry with the Ministry summoning Yadav on the issue in August 2008. Recognition from the AICTE is necessary before a technical institute,whether government-owned or private,is eligible to offer any course.
