A DFID spokesman told PTI today that the process of due diligence was initiated before the series of news reports appeared in the newspaper.
Britain today denied that the process of due diligence initiated against the New Delhi-based energy institute The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) was prompted by a series of critical reports in the British press against its head, RK Pachauri.
The institute receives substantial funds from Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID). It has been the subject of sustained criticism in recent reports in The Daily Telegraph, which questioned its probity and financial management.
A DFID spokesman told PTI today that the process of due diligence was initiated before the series of news reports appeared in the newspaper, and added that the process of institutional assessment applied to all institutions the DFID funded.
The spokesman said: "The proposed funding for Teri will help to bring electricity and clean energy to millions of the world's poorest people by supporting renewable energy projects in India. Teri is a globally respected institution. Their accounts are externally audited and annually submitted to the Government of India. As is routine, DFID is undertaking a full Institutional Assessment of Teri as part of our due diligence process."
In a recent report, The Daily Telegraph attacked DFID and its secretary of state for international development Douglas Alexander for presenting 10 million pounds of British tax-payers money to TERI last September.
In a recent piece, the newspaper alleged: "He (Pachauri) enjoys a lavish lifestyle; his Delhi home is in the Golf Links area, the most expensive stretch of residential real estate in India, and he is famous for his $1,000 suits."
Pachauri, the chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has accused the British daily of carrying out "a sustained vendetta" against him even though he does not receive any payment, honoraria or compensation for work done for the IPCC.
"I have been reading with growing indignation what appears to be a sustained vendetta against me in The Sunday Telegraph and on your blogs," Pachauri said in a letter to the editor. He said "all allegations and insinuations that IPCC money was used to benefit either me personally or Teri are contrary to the facts".
Pachauri said as chairman of the IPCC, "I do not receive any payment, honoraria or compensation for work done for the IPCC - only travel and daily subsistence for attending IPCC meetings".
The noted climate expert said while Teri was established in 1974 with seed money from Tata Chemicals and a few other companies, "The organisation has always functioned as an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to research, development and training, according to a charter focused on sustainable development, and operates according to Indian government regulations".
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