3-day Art of Living culture event under National Green Tribunal scanner

A three-day “World Culture Festival” to be organised next month under the patronage of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art of Living came under the scanner of the National Green Tribunal, which sought the Delhi government’s response on a plea seeking to stop holding of the event on Yamuna floodplains.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to the Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Art of Living Foundation seeking stoppage of the ongoing construction work on the flood plains of Yamuna.

The green panel directed the DDA to submit all the documents on the basis of which permission for the event was granted to the foundation. It also asked the DDA to inspect the site in question along with Prof. A.K. Gosain of IIT and submit a status report.

The event will be held from March 11-13 at Mayur Vihar in East Delhi to mark the celebration of 35 years of Art of Living. The President and the Prime Minister have reportedly given their consent to be a part of the inaugural ceremony.

The tribunal was hearing a petition by Manoj Mishra, convenor of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, alleging that the foundation has recently started construction on the Yamuna flood plains for the festival in violation of NGT orders.

In a detailed judgment last year, the NGT had prohibited any construction activity in the demarcated flood plains of Yamuna and asked its principal committee to identify structures which fall on the flood plain and recommend their demolition.