IN A move that could change the face of the study and practice of
architecture in India, the Ministry of Human Resources Development
(MHRD) has recommended a CBI probe against the president, registrar
and four members of the executive committee of the Council of
Architecture (COA). The COA is a regulatory body constituted by the
Architects Act of 1972, which accredits and licenses educational
institutions to teach architecture in India. Moreover, every architect
working in India has to be registered with the COA.
letter to the CBI dated August 27, 2009 (DO No. C-1301168/2009-Vig) —
from the Joint Secretary and Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the
MHRD, Sunil Kumar — requested the investigation of six top officials
of the COA, namely, the President, Vijay Sohoni, the Registrar, Vinod
Kumar and four members of the Executive Committee: KB Mohapatra, Uday
C Godkari, IJS Bakhsi and Prakash Deshmukh. In the letter (a copy of
which is with TEHELKA) the Joint Secretary alleges that:
• People at the helm of affairs of the COA are misusing the authority
of the Council to levy fees that are not authorised by the Architects
Act.
• Institutions that refuse to pay the unauthorised fees are being
threatened with de-recognition.
• Council memberships and COA executive committee memberships are
being manipulated and members are being allowed to continue beyond
their terms.
• Prestigious institutions such as the School of Planning and
Architecture (SPA), NIT Patna, the Lucknow College of Architecture and
the Chandigarh College of Architecture are singled out for punishment,
while private Institutes such as Chitkara Institute in Punjab and the
Piloo Mody College of Architecture in Orissa are given preferential
treatment by these individuals despite having inferior facilities and
fewer, less qualified faculty.
....
However, when confronted with these allegations by TEHELKA, Sohoni
denied them all. He rubbished charges of financial irregularity and
stated, “I haven’t even received any complaint. The mandate of the COA
is to ensure that there should be no compromise on the quality of
architectural education, regardless of the name and fame of the
institute. We take action only when there is a fall in the mandated
student-faculty ratio. If the ministry has received any complaint,
they should come to us, but sadly, this was not done.”
Ever since the CBI began its investigation into the case in the first
week of September, there is a huge sense of relief among architects
and at various schools of architecture. They believe that this
investigation will ensure that instead of being focused on placating a
rampant COA, they can now concentrate on architecture in India.
cont'd....
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne031009termites_in.asp