look news india
The Supreme Court has given a major legal relief to spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s organization ‘Art of Living’ (AOL) in the case related to ‘World Culture Festival 2016’ organized in the floodplains of Yamuna river. The apex court has completely rejected the 2017 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), in which it was directed to pay environmental compensation of ₹ 5 crore after holding the organization guilty of causing harm to the environment. The Supreme Court has ordered the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to return the entire amount of ₹5 crore deposited by the institution along with interest.
Supreme Court raised serious questions on NGT process
Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih, while delivering the verdict on the case, underlined the procedural lapses and the manner of working of the NGT. The court made it clear that fixing the amount of ₹5 crore based on the interim recommendations of the expert committee constituted by the NGT without any solid scientific evaluation and evidence was not in accordance with legal principles. The court held that proper scientific investigation and adherence to principles of natural justice are mandatory before imposing financial or environmental liability on any entity.
The entire controversy is related to the ‘World Culture Festival’ of the year 2016.
This entire controversy started with the three-day ‘World Culture Festival’ organized on the banks of river Yamuna in Delhi in March 2016. Lakhs of people from India and abroad participated in this grand international cultural program. However, before and after the event, environmental activists had filed petitions alleging that such large-scale infrastructure construction and gathering of people in the sensitive floodplain of the river had caused irreparable damage to the local ecosystem, aquatic life and groundwater recharge capacity.
NGT’s 2017 order and expert committee report
The NGT had given its verdict in December 2017 while hearing the petitions of environmental activists. Citing the report of the expert committee, the tribunal had held that organizing the event had caused damage to the Yamuna floodplain. The NGT had imposed a final environmental penalty of ₹5 crore on Art of Living and directed that the amount would be utilized by the DDA for the revival of Yamuna banks and development of bio-diversity park. The organization had deposited this amount after initially protesting, but also challenged this order of NGT in the Supreme Court.
Mention of environmental clearance and DDA’s no objection
During the hearing in the Supreme Court, senior lawyers appearing for Art of Living argued that all necessary permissions and No Objection Certificates (NOC) were obtained from the relevant statutory authorities for the programme. The organization had denied any concrete construction had taken place and said that the entire area had been cleaned and returned to its original condition after the event. The Supreme Court, after hearing the arguments of all the parties, found that the fine imposed without any concrete environmental damage assessment was unsustainable and ordered the DDA to return the amount.