The art of creating a mess
Environment
The spectacle of the “world’s largest stage” was dwarfed by the severally larger parking facilities and the Art of Living’s ‘World Cultural Festival’ on the banks of the Yamuna river in Delhi may have attracted greater public and judicial ire than the communal solidarity it promised.
If grand was the ambition of the organisers, no less grandiose was the legal theatre that unfolded in the days leading up to the event. The Supreme Court refused to hear a plea against the event and the Delhi High Court too added its two cents worth. But taking centre stage was the National Green Tribunal, playing the pantomime villain, hoping to rain on this parade.
Its 9 March 2016 order, two days before the fete, betrayed the limited options before the Tribunal: belated action on the eve of largely completed construction, and the applicants’ legal failure to prove illegality on part of the Foundation. Though it noted a lack of permission from several law and order authorities and environmental bodies, it directed its disappointment towards their negligence in being under-informed and left out of the loop. It also accepted expert opinion claiming the “flood plains have been drastically tampered with…destroying the natural flow of the river, reeds, grasses, natural vegetation”, and painted an altogether bleak picture of the apocalypse to look forward to after the event. A Rs. 5 crore fine – nay, Environment Compensation – was imposed on the Foundation, payable prior to commencement of the event, while government departments faced smaller liabilities.
Pursuant to sabre rattling by none other than the Sri Sri himself, the NGT on 11 March 2016 took a more amenable stance. The penalty could be paid in tranches, with only Rs. 25 lakhs payable before the event. It reiterated that the Delhi Development Authority and other government agencies would ensure that no pollution was caused on the Yamuna itself – though one may wonder, how does one tell apart the new flotsam and jetsam from the old.
Tags : ART OF LIVING CULTURAL FESTIVAL YAMUNA FLOOD PLAINS
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