Green court holds AoL responsible for damaging Yamuna floodplains

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday held the Art of Living (AoL) Foundation of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar responsible for the damage caused to the Yamuna floodplains by holding 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 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 in terms of the report submitted by the expert committee," the bench said.

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

The tribunal said that in case if the expenditure of the restoration crosses the Rs 5 crore then it would be recovered from AoL.

However, if the cost is less than Rs 5 crore, the remaining amount would be refunded to the foundation, it said.

The NGT also said that Yamuna floodplains should not be used for any activity which 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 recused from the bench.

The AoL counsel said that they will approach the Supreme Court against the verdict.