India’s patent officers on WFH for over a year as office lies vacant due to red tape & unpaid bills

New Delhi: Patent officers, who did not work from home even during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the sensitive nature of their jobs, have been working from home for over a year now due to a lack of office space even as the seven-storey patent building in Dwarka, Delhi, lies vacant, ThePrint has learnt.

Possession of the office building has been delayed with the Union government yet to clear the bills. This is because renovation work was undertaken by the office of Comptroller General Patent Designs and Trademark (CGPDTM), under Professor Unnat P. Pandit, without sanction from the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Patent officers perform quasi-judicial functions regarding the grant or refusal of patents sought for innovation in science and other fields. Therefore, documents in their custody are treated as sensitive as they include exclusive research material submitted by patent-right applicants.

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According to sources in the patent office, a renovation contract was signed in January 2023 with the government body NBCC Service Limited (NSL) by an officer in Mumbai authorised by the CGPDTM. However, since this was done without the approval of the appropriate authority, which in this case is the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the commerce and industry ministry, it was found in violation of the rules.

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Further, the contract was given to a single vendor without the usual tender process, which sources added, was beyond the power of the CGPDTM office. The project has, therefore, come under scanner for administrative irregularities.

Officials, who spoke to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, said renovation work at the building in Dwarka incurred a cost of around Rs 10 crore and the jurisdiction to clear such a big budget proposal for any kind of work in the department lies with the minister for commerce and industry.

“However, since no prior approval was taken before giving the contract for the renovation work, a post-facto approval is now required to clear NSL’s payment. This can only be done by the minister and it appears that this is taking time,” one of the patent officers said.

Until the payment is cleared, NSL cannot hand over the building’s possession to CGPDTM, the officer added.

Moreover, since 20 percent of the repair work is still incomplete, statutory clearances cannot be given to the building for its occupation. Therefore, the remaining five floors of the building cannot be used.

The officers have been working from home since work first began in July 2023.

ThePrint reached the DPIIT secretary over email with a request for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

Also Read: Why India should sign global patent agreements, even if there are no short-term benefits to it

Violation of General Financial Rules

According to another officer, the building had been ready for possession in 2023 after five more floors were added to the original one that had two floors. However, after Pandit took over the office of the CGPDTM as the new director, he signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NBCCNSL to renovate the ground and first floors.

The renovation work carried out in the Dwarka building was in addition to the repair work that was ordered for patent offices in Mumbai and another building in Delhi.

The total cost of the four projects that the NBCCNSL was tasked with was around Rs 26 crore, of which Rs 12 crore was the cost of the renovations at the Dwarka building.

Official documents accessed by ThePrint show that the payment for the first phase of construction work, outsourced to NBCCNSL, was made by CGPDTM in violation of the rules and by diverting funds from the budget allocated for another purpose.  

According to the records, the CGPDTM office had utilised a portion of the Rs 16.92 crore allocated during the year 2022-2023 to his office for admin-related purchases, including the purchase of computers and the repair of air-conditioners, among others.

However, of the said amount, Rs 12 crore was diverted to pay for the repair work carried out in the Mumbai office, where new conference halls were built.

“This was the diversion of funds from the sanctioned purpose was not in compliance with the GFR-2017 (General Financial Rules),” according to an office note prepared by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry after the CGPDTM reached out to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for a post-facto approval of the utilisation of the Rs 12 crore.

Another file recorded that the renovation work given to NSL through a single source selection, without the approval of the competent authority, was also a violation of the GFR. “There are irregularities and violation of other GFR rules as stated above in the aforesaid proposal,” the note said.  

Furthermore, the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) were never forwarded to the DPIIT for approval. “Thus, it is evident that an amount of Rs 12.74 crore had already been spent without approval of the competent authority and it was fait accompli,” another note recorded.

Despite the blatant violation, the ministry gave a post-facto approval for the Rs 12 crore expense since the task was in the completion stage and “payment had become a fait-accompli”.

Only group leaders & section in-charge work in office daily

However, the post-facto approval was given only to change the head under which the funds were used as well as to the utilisation of the Rs 12.74 crore payment that was paid to NSL as the first instalment. It was not granted to clear the renovation project.

Sources told ThePrint that the secretary, DPIIT, visited the building in November 2024 and, after conducting a site inspection, assured that some action would be taken to operate the building. A committee, set up in December 2023, to look into the violations submitted its report following the secretary’s visit.

It was not immediately clear what the report said.

Shortage of workspace has an impact on the operations of the patent office. ThePrint has learnt that out of the current 349 officials, 80 report to work and sit in the old building next to the one under renovation. Both the buildings are located in Dwarka. The old building houses the administrative division of the CGPDTM office and officials who work in the copyright and trademark departments.

“After allocating space in the old building for employees of these divisions, the remaining area could accommodate 80 officers from the patents division,” said a officer from the CGPDTM office on condition of anonymity.

The latest circular, announcing work for home in January 2025, shows that the department has divided the officers into three batches and prepared a roster system.

Only group leaders and section in-charges have been asked to attend office daily.

“Officers not required to attend the office on a particular day, shall strictly work from home and should be available on telephone and electronic means of communication at all times, all officers shall keep their rooms open and systems accessible,” an office order from January 2025, accessed by ThePrint, said.

Moreover, new 552 officers are in the process of being inducted and despite such a large number expected to join, there is no plan for accommodating them.

(Edited by Sanya Mathur)

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