A letter sent by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Deputy Secretary B Bandyopadhyay to the RIMS Medical Superintendent today conveyed that the president of RIMS board of governors has approved appointment of RK Dinesh as officiating Director of RIMS till the post is filled up on regular basis with immediate effect and until further orders.
Meanwhile, many quarters have raised strong suspicion that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare flouted the relevant rules of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the process of appointing the institute’s officiating Director.
There is nothing to rejoice on filling up the RIMS Director’s seat which has been lying vacant for over a month if the officiating Director is appointed by violating relevant rules and regulations, said the aggrieved people.
The post of Director has been lying vacant since Director-in-charge Prof Arunkumar retired on February 28.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Deputy Secretary B Bandyopadhyay sent a letter to RIMS Medical Superintendent today informing that IAS RK Dinesh has been appointed officiating Director of RIMS.
Many senior Professors of RIMS were surprised when they learnt about the appointment of an IAS officer as the medical institute’s officiating Director after allegedly violating all the relevant rules of the institute and the Medical Council of India (MCI).
Some senior Professors of RIMS told The Sangai Express that the Director’s post should be held by only medical professionals. No IAS officer is eligible to hold the post of Director of a medical institute as per MCI rules.
Earlier, Principal Secretary Suresh Babu (IAS) was appointed as Director in-charge of JNIMS as the post of Director was lying vacant for a long time. But MCI categorically stated that no IAS officer should be appointed to the post of Director. Subsequently Dr Deven was appointed as JNIMS Director. As such, RIMS is literally staring at a similar situation, asserted the senior Professors.
Notably, RIMS has been already plagued by several controversies such as CBI enquiry into corruption charges, denial of regular Medical Superintendent to join office for a prolonged period, appointment of Director-in-charge in the presence of another Director-in-charge and absence of a regular Director since the retirement of Director-in-charge Prof Arunkumar etc.
Now another controversy may erupt over appointment of officiating Director after allegedly flouting all relevant rules and regulations, said the senior Professors.
As per rules, the tenure of an officiating Director cannot extend over six months but the letter sent by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Deputy Secretary did not mention anything about the officiating Director’s tenure, they added.
Source: The Sangai Express
