New Delhi: As clouds of sexual harassment allegations continue to swirl around TERI, its new Chairman Ashok Chawla on Saturday said his immediate priority would be to steer away the organisation from the present period of stress.
Amid a public outcry over return of R K Pachauri as TERI's Executive Vice Chairman despite sexual harassment allegations against him, its Governing Council last evening asked him to go on an indefinite leave from all positions at the institute.
Besides, TERI has also appointed Chawla, a career bureaucrat a former Finance Secretary who last month retired as chief of fair trade regulator Competition Commission, as the new Chairman of its Governing Council.
Stating that TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) would soon put in place an external ombudsman to look into the complaints of staff members, 65-year-old Chawla said the immediate priority is to steer the institution out of its present stress.
"I am absolutely new to the organisation (TERI)... The organisation has a huge international reputation and credibility in terms of the work that it does. So the objective will be that one sort of steers it away from the present period of stress through which the organisation is going through for different reasons," Chawla said.
Chawla said he has had preliminary discussion with TERI Director General Ajay Mathur on having an external ombudsman to help address issues faced by employees. Mathur has replaced Pachauri as the Director General and will operate with full executive powers. This will strip Pachauri of any executive powers he may have enjoyed when he was appointed executive vice chairman earlier this week.
"We will try to institutionalise an arrangement where we will bring in an external ombudsman to whom employees who are in difficult situations of any kind can raise that issue. Then the external ombudsman can go through it and advice the management on what are the facts and what needs to be done," Chawla said.
He emphasised this would be an area of priority at this point of time. When asked about Pachauri's future at TERI, since he is only on leave, Chawla said the institute's governing council is looking at the developments which is a sub judice matter.
Referring to the decisions taken by TERI's Governing Council on Friday, Chawla said the body is "essentially looking at further movement on the matter which is sub judice. So that is the key to any future decision in that regard."
Confident of getting support as TERI chairman, Chawla said he is fortunate to have a new Director General who was earlier also with the institution. "I think both of us will work together and with all the dedicated professionals make sure that the institution continues uninterrupted on the path of glory," Chawla said.
The focus would be to ensure that TERI continues to move ahead in the area of good work it has been doing, he noted. The Institute has been mired in a major controversy due to alleged sexual harassment charges against Pachauri, who had to proceed on "leave" from TERI, its governing council as well as the university.
While Pachauri has been replaced as DG of the institute, it has been facing flak after it decided to create a new position of Executive Vice Chairman for him.
Seeking to assuage the concerns, TERI Governing Council on Friday decided that Pachauri would go on leave till further review due to "sub-judice" nature of the matter and also appointed Chawla as its Chairman. Chawla replaces B V Sreekantan who has resigned in the midst of mounting outrage over the elevation of Pachauri facing a swirl of sexual harassment allegations.
Sreekantan has been on the governing council for over 40 years. Pachauri however continues to face heat as women activists on Friday also protested outside TERI office, demanding his sacking from the organisation.
Pachauri, who went on leave on Friday from the TERI University after students refused to receive degrees from him, proceeded on leave from the organisation and its governing council.
The green body has a staff strength of 1,200 people, out of which over 33 per cent are women. "At the highest echelons of the institute, 14 of the 30 directors are women. The Governing Council of TERI supports the rights of women and has consistently ensured the provision of a secure environment and a safe work place for its employees," TERI said in its statement on Friday.
