Sri Sri Ravi Shankar New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal, the country's apex environmental court, on Thursday held the Art of Living (AOL) Foundation responsible for damage caused to the Yamuna floodplains through a World Cultural Festival the organisation hosted there in March 2016. "We hold AOL responsible for the damage caused to the Yamuna floodplains in terms of the report submitted by the expert committee," the bench said, and directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to assess the damage caused to the floodplains and compute the cost of restoration. "Our stand has been vindicated - the judgment underlines the importance of floodplains," Misra told The Telegraph. The tribunal said the Yamuna floodplains should not be used for any activity that could damage the environment. The NGT also criticised the DDA for failing to exercise its duty to protect the floodplains but refrained from imposing any penalty on it.

Source: The Telegraph December 07, 2017 20:48 UTC