The National Green Tribunal, NGT, today questioned the Centre as to why no environmental clearance is required for erecting structures in Yamuna flood plains for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living World Culture Festival.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Swantanter Kumar asked Ministry of Environment and Forest to file an affidavit by tomorrow and tell why no environmental clearance is needed for raising temporary structures.
The direction came after counsel appearing for the Ministry said that they have found no debris at the site, when an expert team had visited and as per Environment Impact Assessment notification 2006, no environment clearance is needed for temporary structures. The Green Panel also questioned the building up of pontoon bridge by the Army on river Yamuna for the festival, and asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) counsel as who gave the permission for setting it up.
The Indian Army, which has built a pontoon bridge on the Yamuna for the Art of Living Foundation’s upcoming World Culture Festival, is likely to build one more to ease movement of lakhs of people who are expected to attend the controversy-ridden mega event.
The development came even as there was criticism from some quarters, including the social media, about using Army to build the floating bridge for such an event.
President Pranab Mukherjee will not be attending the festival in the wake of controversy over holding the three-day cultural function on the Yamuna flood plains beginning in Delhi this Friday.
Mukherjee had earlier agreed to attend the valedictory ceremony on Sunday. While the organisers of the function expect lakhs of people to attend the function, concerns have been raised by experts about the damage to the environment that may be caused as the three-day event was being held on flood plains of the river in east Delhi.
