NGT threatens to withdraw permission if AoL doesn't pay fine

Fine money to be used for ecological restoration

GN Bureau | March 10, 2016


#World Culture Festival   ##OccupyYamuna   #Delhi   #Art of Living   #Environment   #NGT   #Religion   #Yamuna   #Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  


The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has threatened to revoke permission for the World Culture Festival if the Art of Living foundation (AoL) does not cough up the fine by 4 pm on Thursday.

The NGT had given a go ahead to the festival taking strict note of the damage done by the organisers on the Yamuna river flood plains and riverbed and slapped a fine of Rs 5 crore. However, a defiant Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, in an interview with NDTV, said that he will not pay the fine and will appeal against the decision. A hearing is scheduled at NGT from 4 pm onwards.

The fine amount is expected to increase manifold once the principal committee appointed by the tribunal submits its report in four weeks. The fine will be used to restore the floodplains though activists rue that the original ecology is lost forever.

The fine imposed on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCB) for allotting land and failing to discharge its duties are just Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively.
 

 

Comments

 

Other News

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That

When algorithms decide and children die

The images have not left me, of dead and wounded children being carried in the arms of the medics and relatives to the ambulances and hospitals. On February 28, at the start of Operation Epic Fury, cruise missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school – officially named a girls’ school, in Minab,

The economics of representation: Why women in power matter

India’s democracy has grown in scale, but not quite in balance. Women today are active participants in elections, influencing outcomes in ways that were not as visible earlier. Yet their presence in legislative institutions continues to lag behind. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was meant to addres

India will be powerful, not aggressive: Bhaiyyaji

India is poised to emerge as a global power but will remain rooted in its civilisational ethos of non-aggression and harmony, former RSS General Secretary Suresh `Bhaiyyaji` Joshi has said.   He was speaking at the launch of “Rashtrabhav,” a book by Ravindra Sathe

AI: Code, Control, Conquer

India today stands at a critical juncture in the area of artificial intelligence. While the country is among the fastest adopters of AI in the world, it remains heavily reliant on technologies developed elsewhere. This paradox, experts warn, cannot persist if India seeks technological sovereignty.


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter