On 31st May, The Art of Living Foundation (Aol) received a massive blow when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) denied its plea to pay the compensation of 4.75 crores by bank guarantee. It has been asked to pay the amount within a week. This fine, or as the foundation continuously reminds the public, the “compensation” has been imposed on the foundation due to hosting the World Culture Festival on the river Yamuna’s floodplains.

The World Culture Festival was a three-day event organized by the Art of Living Foundation run by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The right bank of river Yamuna, as one moves from Delhi towards Noida, had seen almost a minitownship emerge out of nowhere in the month of March. This festival was held from 11th to13th March on the flood plains of the Yamuna River across the area of Mayur Vihar, Delhi. Around 3.5 million people from various parts of the world have been said to have attended this event.

This event was a major concern for environmentalists and looking at the damages that were foretold, it is not hard to see why: There has been large-scale compaction of the land between the DND flyover and the river with the entire area being leveled. A four member committee created by the NGT comprising Prof. A K Gosain, Prof. Brij Gopal, Prof. C R Prabhu and Shashi Shekhar, ( Secretary, Minister of WaterResources) released a report which states that the water bodies along this stretch have been filled up and compacted which could disturb the natural drainage network of the region.

The ecosystem that existed on the floodplains on the western side of the river has been destroyed. Birds and other natural life that were supported by the floodplain have vanished due to this destruction. The topography of the floodplains has been changed in accordance with the needs for the festival. Stretches of land have been leveled while several have been raised which disregards the flood control function that floodplains serve. This, along with the removal of shrubs and natural vegetation, could have an impact on the capacity of the floodplains to mitigate future floods

Two pontoon bridges across the Yamuna have been constructed by the foundation. This is in direct violation of the 2015 NGT order that banned any activity on the river recognizing the devastating potential of any such construction. The entire site, during the preparation of the venue, was littered with construction material and if not disposed properly, can cause further ecological damage.

Apart from the heavy machinery and thousands of vehicles, an enormous stage about 1200 ft long, 200 ft wide and 40 ft high had been erected to support several thousands of performers and artists. The compaction caused due to the extra load that these imply is likely to cause permanent and irreparable compaction in the floodplains which could be devastating since these are vital in terms of land subsidence and natural drainage in the region.

The NGT-constituted committee Ministry of Water Resources as well as the committee formed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had agreed that this event would cause a lot of ecological damages but recognized the fact that it was too late to stop the event. Hence they imposed a fine of 5 crore on the foundation which had to be paid before the event started. So far, the foundation has paid 25 lakhs. The NGT has also slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 1 lakhs, respectively, on the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for lapses while granting clearances. The NGT states that the Art of Living “used the order of the court to hold the event and then went back on its commitment”. The court also added that the organizers tried multiple legal cases “in order not to pay the fine” as a result of which the “conduct of the foundation has been called into question.”

The foundation released a statement stating the unfairness of the judgment and their willingness to take up the matter with the Supreme Court. It also states that they “left the WCF site in a better condition than what we had got. We have an extensive repertoire for environment work and find these allegations unacceptable. The Art of Living has never said that we don’t have funds. We were ready and willing to give abank guarantee which served the purpose but our application has been wrongly dismissed. We will test the legality and see how we can correct the judgment.”