Arun Kumar. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

The Assembly’s zero hour committee has recommended to the government to start departmental proceedings against Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences director Dr Arun Kumar for allegedly delaying promotions of faculty members.

Committee chairman Avnish Kumar Singh tabled the report with the recommendations in the Assembly on Friday, the last day of the monsoon session.

Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “We have recommended that action should be taken against Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) director Dr Arun Kumar within the next two months because of his alleged role in delaying promotions of the faculty members of different departments at the institute. We carried out an inspection five to six months ago, and the report was tabled in the Assembly along with the recommendations on Friday.”

Asked to comment on the recommendations, Dr Arun Kumar said: “When I don’t know about this, how can I comment?”

Vyasji, principal secretary, health, also said: “The government has not got a copy of the recommendations of the zero hour committee. I don’t know anything about this, so it would not be appropriate to comment now.”

House panels can only recommend and the government is not obliged to accept them.

The zero hour committee chairman said: “We found the director was giving promotions on a pick-and-choose policy, which is not justified. He also held two posts simultaneously — of the institute’s director as well as head of department, anaesthesia — which is against the rules of Medical Council of India (MCI). So, another of our recommendations was the institute director should be removed from the post of head of department with immediate effect in accordance with the rules of MCI.”

The apex medical panel says the head of an institute and the medical superintendent, who is the head of the affiliated teaching hospital, can be in charge of a unit but cannot be the head of department at the medical college.

Other recommendations of the zero hour committee include giving promotion within a month to IGIMS faculty members who were eligible for it between 2008 and 2011. It also has to be ensured that doctors eligible for promotion be given so within three months of the same.