Centre for Water Resources Development and Management resent top appointment move

Kozhikode: The elite Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) is facing a case of corruption and nepotism following the efforts of Prof. Rajasekharan Pillai, when he was holding the charge of executive vice-president of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCST&E), to push a candidate to the post of executive director of CWRDM in 2012.

Prof. Rajasekharan Pillai, who has been named in several corruption cases, had submitted only the name of hydrologist Prof. Thangaraj, who was vice-chancellor of a deemed university in Tamil Nadu, to the post flouting norms.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is also the president of the KSCST&E, had put the appointment on hold and the Kerala High Court had directed him to solve the issue before May 5 based on a petition filed by Prof. Thangaraj, but till now no decision has been taken.

The government then made Dr. Narasimha Prasad, the seniormost scientist at CWRDM, as the executive director-in- charge. As per precedent, three names are suggested to the post of executive director and the KSCST&E president selects one among them. CWRDM officials objected to the decision of Prof Rajasekharan Pillai as the interview board had ruled three candidates eligible for the post.

“I was a member in the screening committee and we had found four candidates eligible –Dr. Santhosh Thambi from NIT Kozhikode, Dr. Narasimha Prasad of CWRDM, Prof. Thangaraj and one scientist from NIT, Roorkey. Three of them had appeared for the interview conducted by the selection committee,” Mr K.K. Ramachandran, member secretary of KSCST&E, told Deccan Chronicle.