NIMHANS: Newly Appointed Director Dr Padma Srivastava may not take charge

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the Padma Shri Prof Dr M.V. Padma Srivastava was appointed for the post of NIMHANS Director for the period of five years on December 23. It had been scheduled that the former in-charge director G. Gururaj would hand over the responsibilities to the new head of the institute. She had received her appointment letter on December 26.

The professor of neurology and the head of the Department of Neurology of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Prof. Srivastava had been the first outside candidate to be appointed as the Director of NIMHANS. She had also been the second woman directing the Institute after Dr M Gourie Devi in 1997.

After the tenure of the former director, Dr BN Gangadhar was over in October, the institute appointed Dr G Gururaj as the in-charge director for the period of three months. The term of Dr Gururaj as in-charge director will end on April 3.

Read also: NIMHANS Update: M.V. Padma Srivastava Appointed As The New Director

As per the latest media report by The New Indian Express, it had been scheduled that Prof Srivastava would take charge from the senior professor of epidemiology and in-charge director Dr G Gururaj. However, the daily added that the reason for this unprecedented and surprising event is not known yet.

Giving further details in the matter, an insider told the TNIE, "There has been some talk in the institute to this effect, but there is no official communication on the matter so far. In fact, the arrangements for the takeover by the new director have been made and we are awaiting her arrival, though there is no communication even on that."

Sources further informed the daily, "In case the new appointee does not take charge, then the Centre will have to re-process the file on the recommendations made by the search committee on the appointment of Director."

Altogether eight candidates including five from the institute itself had appointed for the post after the Centre advertised for it in March 2020. NIE adds that Head of Department, Psychiatry, Dr Prathima Murthy, former HoD, Psychiatry Dr Prabha Chandra, former HoDs, Neurology, Dr Nalini and Dr Pramod Pal, and former HoD, Neurosurgery, Dr Malla Bhaskara Rao from NIMHANS had appointed for the same post.

NIMHANS is a multidisciplinary institute for patient care and academic pursuit in the field of mental health and neurosciences. As per the information on the NIMHANS website, the history of the institute goes back to the Bangalore Lunatic Asylum founded in 1847. The asylum became a rechristened Mental Hospital back in 1925 by the Government of Mysore. The University Grants Commission conferred the institute as a deemed university in 1994.