R K Pachauri removed as TERI chief, Ajay Mathur to take over

Nobel laureate and chief of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), RK Pachauri, who is facing sexual harassment charges, has been removed as director-general of the green body.

Ajay Mathur, director-general, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, has been appointed as the new director-general of TERI. The decision was taken at a meeting of TERI's the governing council (GC) in Bangalore today.

"The Governing Council (GC) of TERI at its meeting held in Bangalore took a decision to appoint Ajay Mathur as the director-general of TERI.

"Dr Mathur will take up his new responsibilities as soon as he is in a position to do so, subsequent to being relieved from his current responsibilities by the Government of India after a brief period of transition," an official TERI release said.

Mathur holds a Ph D and a Master of Science from the University of Illinois. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Roorkee. He began his career at TERI in 1986.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Pachauri issued a statement that he has informed the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that he has resigned from his position.

The 75-year-old Pachauri also said he was ''committed to providing all assistance and cooperation to the authorities in their ongoing investigations."