NGT: Art of Living damaged Yamuna floodplains

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday held Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AoL) Foundation responsible for the damage caused to the Yamuna floodplains as it organised the World Cultural Festival there in March 2016. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, however, refused to impose any further environment compensation on the AoL and said the amount of Rs 5 crore, which was submitted by it earlier, would be used for the restoration of the floodplains.

“We hold AoL responsible for the damage caused to the Yamuna floodplains as per the report submitted by the expert committee,” the bench said.

The bench, also including Justice Jawad Rahim and expert member B.S. Sajwan, directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to assess the damage caused to the floodplains and compute the cost of restoration in line with the recommendations of the expert panel.

The tribunal said that in case the expenditure of the restoration crosses the limit of Rs 5 crore, it would be recovered from the AoL. Alternatively, if the cost is less than Rs 5 crore, the remaining amount would be refunded to the foundation. The NGT also said the Yamuna floodplains should not be used for any activity that can cause damage to the environment. However, it refused to decide whether AoL was authorised to hold the festival on Yamuna floodplains or not, saying it is beyond its jurisdiction.

The NGT also rapped the DDA for failing to exercise its duty to protect the Yamuna floodplains, but refrained from imposing any penalty on it. Before the pronouncement of the judgement, it was informed that Justice R.S. Rathore, who had earlier heard the matter, had been recused from the bench. The AoL counsel said that they will approach the Supreme Court against the verdict.

“We are not in agreement with the verdict. The Art of Living is disappointed with the decision taken by the NGT for damaging Yamuna floodplains during its World Cultural Festival. Our submissions have not been dealt with or considered. We will appeal to the apex court. We are confident that we will get justice before the Supreme Court,” AoL said.

The NGT had on November 13 reserved its order on the issue.