Art of Living criticises report submitted to NGT

The report has no scientific basis and is clearly biased, said Art of Living

GN Bureau | April 17, 2017


#Yamuna floodplains   #National Green Tribunal   #NGT   #Art of Living   #World Cultural Festival  


 
The Art of Living (AOL) has criticised a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal, calling it “completely flawed, unscientific and biased”.
 
The Art of Living foundation had held its World Culture Festival on the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi in March 2016.
 
The ecological rehabilitation of the Yamuna floodplain, impacted by Art of Living’s (AOL) three-day cultural event, would cost Rs 42.02 crore, said a seven-member committee in a report submitted to the NGT, reported The Mint 
 
In a statement, AOL said: “We have placed significant material on record before the NGT which clearly shows that the Committee is biased. Our Application in this regard has not yet been heard. We do not trust this Committee. It has disqualified itself by its blatantly biased conduct.”
 
“From randomly pronouncing damages for Rs 120 crore, they have come down to Rs 13 crore; from permanent damage they are now saying 10 years. From damage to wetlands they are now saying damage to floodplains. Their inconsistencies expose their lies.”
 
It added that the expert committee chairperson, Shashi Shekhar, who had earlier blown the whistle before the NGT that Rs 120 crore is unscientific, has not signed this report.
 
“[Professor] Brij Gopal too has not signed the report. Is it because they too agree that the Committee is unscientific and biased? How can the committee submit a report without the consent of its Chairman? And why has the biased report not explained this breach of mandatory protocol? The report has no scientific basis and is clearly biased. There is no evidence at all to justify their claims,” AOL said.
 
 

Comments

 

Other News

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al

Import duty on major edible oils cut

The government has reduced the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on major imported crude edible oils with a view to moderating domestic edible oil prices, providing relief to consumers and mitigating inflationary pressures arising from the sharp increase in international edible oil prices.  

From pyramid to platform: BRICS agenda for Global South

In his opening address at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12, prime minister Narendra Modi did something India`s diplomacy has been building towards for three years: he moved the ‘Voice of the Global South’ from a slogan to a work plan. Addressing the leaders, he argued that t

How to realise the full transformative potential of PM-JAY

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), a welfare scheme which covers approximately 45 crore beneficiaries across India, provides cashless health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. It is the largest health insurance scheme which helped crores of poor families by reducing out-of-pocket expend

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter