Employees of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies on Sunday demanded the removal of director D.M. Diwakar, alleging that his weak administration capability led to deterioration in its standards.

Addressing a news meet, N.K. Choudhary, the president of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies Employees’ Association, said: “The institute is going through a bad phase. The research work — for which the institute was famous — is not being carried out anymore.”

He added that earlier, renowned international scholars like Sir John Hawkes and Amartya Sen had visited the institute. “But now, only research sponsored by government agencies is being carried out at the institute,” said Choudhary, a senior economics teacher of Patna University.

He also said many employees — current and former — were not getting their remuneration.

P.N. Dubey, who retired from the institute as head typist, said: “According to the rules, I should get Rs 21,000 as pension but I am getting only Rs 15,000 as my post-retirement pay has not been regularised.”

Vijay Kumar Singh, the son of former employee Rambali Singh, said: “My father died in harness in 2011. He was getting paid according to the Sixth Pay Commission. He was entitled to get pension under the same scale but we are getting money according to the Fifth Pay Commission.”

Choudhary also accused the director of using the resources of the institute, such as cars and staff, for his private work.

“The institute claims that it does not have the funds to pay the employees but it recently spent crores in renovating the director’s bungalow.”

Diwakar recently moved to the new bungalow, which had been home to Aryabhatta Knowledge University.

Asked about the allegations against him, Diwakar said: “The annual report of the institute is enough to highlight its achievements. When I joined the institute four years ago, there were only four faculty members. The number has risen to 18. The institute did not have a journal at that time. Now, it has its own journal. The library is one of the best in east India.”

He added that the institute was conducting research with UNDP, Unesco and ILO.

AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies was founded by the government of Bihar and named after Anugrah Narayan Sinha, the first deputy chief minister and finance minister of Bihar, in January, 1958. The primary focus of its research is socio-economic issues.