Institutions do not collapse overnight. They erode slowly—through neglect, indifference, procedural abuse, and a culture of unaccountability. What is unfolding at NIPER Mohali is not an aberration but a pattern. The records of its own Board of Governors meetings provide irrefutable evidence.
The 83rd meeting of the Board of Governors, held on December 15, 2023, exposed a disturbing picture of institutional mismanagement and governance failure. The Secretary, Technical Education, Government of Punjab—a statutory member of the Board—has not attended a single Board meeting of this prestigious national institute. Instead, different representatives appear at different meetings, diluting continuity, accountability, and seriousness. The same apathy is visible from the office of the DCGI: the Deputy Drugs Controller (India), CDSCO Sub-Zonal Office, Baddi, routinely represents the DCGI, who himself has never attended a Board meeting since the Board was reconstituted till 83rd meeting.
Equally alarming was the absence of four key Board members from the 83rd meeting—Dr. T. Rajamannar, Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, Dr. Rajesh Jain, and the Acting Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. Of the total Board strength, only four members attended in physical mode. A fifth attendee was merely a representative, not a Board member. In other words, barely 33% of the Board participated physically, despite the Director’s explicit request that members attend in person to lend seriousness and a “personalized touch” to the Institute’s issues. Governance by proxy has become the norm.
The credibility of governance is further undermined by the handling of Board minutes. Shockingly, the minutes of the 83rd Board meeting were signed only by the Registrar—who is not a member of the Board of Governors. Repeated requests to upload Board minutes on the Institute’s website, in the interest of transparency, were ignored. Worse still, the Secretary of the Board, whose name figures in a CBI FIR has signed multiple undisclosed minutes in the past, along with Dr. V. M. Katoch. Can such minutes be relied upon? What is the legal and institutional fate of Board decisions never placed in the public domain?
The minutes also record that the Ministry informed NIPER Mohali of Pfizer Limited’s interest in collaborating on a Centre of Excellence for Anti-Viral and Anti-Bacterial Drug Discovery. Beyond this passing mention, there is deafening silence. No follow-up, no outcome, no accountability. Is this how strategic national-level collaborations are handled?
Agenda Item 83.2 bluntly acknowledges a chronic disease: repetitive agenda items with no closure. The Board had to direct—yet again—that its decisions be implemented urgently and within fixed timelines. It also instructed the completion of all prerequisites for registration of CPIE under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. The very need for such reiteration exposes systemic paralysis.
Academic standards, too, are being quietly diluted. Under Agenda Item 82.9, the Board approved an amendment dispensing with the evaluation of Ph.D. theses by foreign examiners. Globally reputed universities insist on international evaluation to preserve academic rigor and independence. Removing this safeguard opens the door to insularity, favoritism, and mediocrity—where these may now be examined by familiar, local faces rather than global experts.
Agenda Item 82.2.3 further reflects administrative lethargy. The Board reminded the Director—its Principal Executive Officer—that no agenda item should linger beyond two meetings without justification. Such an observation would not have been necessary had the Institute functioned in a time-bound, professional manner.
The stagnation becomes glaring in Agenda Item 82.2.6 concerning the Personal Promotion Scheme (PPS) for non-teaching staff, approved as far back as March 23, 2014. The issue of the cut-off date has remained unresolved for nine years, spanning the entire tenure of the current Registrar, Mr. PJP Singh Waraich. Who created this impasse? Why was it allowed to fester for nearly a decade? Who benefited from this ambiguity? These questions demand investigation, not evasion.
Another example of indecision is Agenda Item 82.2.7 relating to the MoA with UniversitiTeknologi Mara (UiTM). The Board was informed that the agreement had become infructuous because the project tenure had expired, simply because a minor arbitration clause could not be amended in time. Delay, yet again, became the silent executioner.
Employee welfare has not been spared. Agenda Item 81.2 on extending Retirement Gratuity and Death Gratuity to NIPER employees under NPS—an undeniable employee right—was merely “directed for follow-up” with the Ministry. Given the track record, one can only fear how such legitimate entitlements may be mishandled under incompetent leadership.
Agenda Item 83.8 raises perhaps the most troubling red flag. The Board was informed that CPWD agreed to undertake construction and renovation works without charging any departmental or consultancy fees—unlike other agencies such as NBCC or BSNL. This claim warrants serious scrutiny, especially since past works, including bridge construction, were executed through BSNL. Who negotiated with CPWD? On what terms? Why were different agencies used earlier? This is an area where many skeletons may surface if examined honestly.
Finally, Agenda Item 83.9 granted the Director discretionary powers to approve national MoUs, while international MoUs would require Board approval. This stands in stark contrast to my tenure as Director, when Dr. V. M. Katoch and Mr. Rajneesh Tingal routinely raised frivolous objections, stalled MoUs, and blocked collaborations—often driven by personal animosity rather than institutional interest. Ironically, the same powers once denied are now liberally granted.
The records speak for themselves. What NIPER Mohali suffers from today is not lack of talent or mandate, but a collapse of governance discipline. Without accountability, transparency, and professional leadership, even institutions of national importance can be reduced to hollow shells. The warning signs are already flashing. Whether anyone in authority chooses to act remains the real question.
