SC Sets Aside NGT Order on Yamuna Floodplains, Directs DDA to Refund Rs 5 Crore
The Supreme Court on Saturday set aside a December 2017 ruling of the National Green Tribunal that held Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation responsible for damage caused to the Yamuna floodplains during its World Culture Festival in 2016.
A Bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and N.K. Singh directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to refund ₹5 crore deposited by the foundation within four weeks. The top court's verdict came on an appeal filed by Vyakti Vikas Kendra India, an organisation associated with the Art of Living Foundation.
The court also disapproved of the DDA's decision to permit the cultural event on an active floodplain in the first place. Authoring the judgment, Justice Sharma observed that granting permission was not only avoidable, but was also not consistent with the precautionary principle and doctrine of public trust.
The Bench clarified that the DDA must continue to carry out rehabilitation work on the Yamuna floodplains under the proposed plan and directions issued by the NGT from time to time. The court noted that it had not altered the responsibilities entrusted to the DDA concerning the management or rehabilitation of the floodplains in any manner.
In the ruling, the top court stated that the NGT had failed to note that the site of the event on the floodplain was already in a damaged condition before it was handed over to the foundation. The court observed that the tribunal did not specify whether the foundation had caused any additional damage and ignored relevant material, including a letter from the foundation pointing out the presence of debris and construction material at the site.
The Bench further noted that the tribunal got swayed by an expert committee report regarding massive preparatory work and relied on a solitary satellite image without testing it against contemporaneous evidence. The court remarked that the NGT had converted the case into a proceeding for fresh development and effectively burdened the appellant with the task of developing something that it never destroyed.
