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Hold back salaries in colleges that don’t file Internal Complaint Committee reports: Cuttack collector
Cuttack collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde said the head of institutions that haven’t complied with the mandate would be placed under suspension
Bhubaneswar: Cuttack collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde has ordered over 100 colleges in the district to suspend disbursement of salaries to their employees for failure to submit reports of the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) set up under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act.
Shinde said the head of institutions that haven’t complied with the mandate would be placed under suspension. No college will be allowed to delay compliance, especially in matters involving women’s dignity and grievance redressal, he said
Only some of the district’s 210 institutions have complied with the directive.
A July 21 notification stated that the salaries of the institution’s staff would remain suspended until full compliance is ensured.
“Appropriate action may be taken against the heads of defaulting institutions by withholding the salary of the entire establishment of the defaulting offices,” the order said. It also threatened suspension of the principals in case of non-compliance.
“I don’t have the exact number, but many colleges have not submitted their reports. If they fail to do so in the next 24 to 48 hours, they may also face suspension along with the withholding of their salaries,” said Shinde.
Following the suicide of a 20-year-old woman at Fakir Mohan College in Balasore last week to protest official apathy over her complaints against a professor, the Odisha government directed all colleges and universities in Odisha to form Internal Complaints Committees within 24 hours, as mandated under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
There are over 700 government-run and aided colleges and 17 public universities in the state. They were also instructed to publicly display the names and contact details of ICC members for awareness.
The state higher education department has also ordered universities and colleges to organise sensitisation workshops on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, and the UGC Regulations, 2015, for both staff and students to enhance awareness and prevent such incidents.
The government also launched the Shaktishree Programme to ensure the safety of girl students in higher education institutions, under which permanent “Shaktishree Empowerment Cells” would be set up in every college and university, managed by a woman student (Shaktishree Saathi) and a woman faculty member with five working women as mentors visiting every three months.
A Shaktishree mobile app will be launched to allow students to report complaints via text, audio, or video directly to the ICC chairperson, with an option to escalate unresolved issues to a local committee. A code of conduct for teachers and non-teaching staff, requiring annual online training on women’s safety, gender sensitivity, and professional ethics, is also being planned.
