The Supreme Court today set aside an order passed by the National Green Tribunal in December 2017 which had directed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living International Centre, operating through Vyakti Vikas Kendra, to pay Rs 5 crore as environmental compensation for damage caused to the Yamuna river floodplains during the World Culture Festival held in March 2016. A bench comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Justice NK Singh allowed the appeal filed by Vyakti Vikas Kendra against the NGT's order.
The Bench held that there is no direct evidence establishing that the cultural festival caused damage to the River Yamuna's fragile ecosystem. It noted that the floodplain was already in a damaged condition before the event site was handed over to the organisers. Earlier reports had recorded deterioration and non-implementation of restoration directions, while the organisers themselves had informed the Delhi Development Authority about construction debris already lying at the site and had obtained permission to remove it.
The Court was particularly critical of the reliance placed on a September 5, 2015 satellite image and the expert committee's assessment of the pre-event condition. It observed that the image appeared inconsistent with other contemporaneous material showing the floodplain in a damaged state. The Court also noted that a later government officials' committee found grass and water at the site, no debris, no significant wetland or water body within the allotted area, and no significant difference between pre- and post-event imagery.
Another key issue was the distinction between restoration and rehabilitation. The Supreme Court held that the two concepts could not be treated as interchangeable. Restoration seeks to return an affected area to its original state, whereas rehabilitation aims to make an ecosystem fully functional and capable of providing optimum ecological services. According to the Court, the NGT erred by imposing a broader rehabilitation obligation on the appellant when the proceedings concerned alleged damage attributable to the event.
The Court also found that the expert committee itself had acknowledged that the ecological condition of the site before the event could not be reliably determined. Despite this limitation, the committee went on to recommend broader rehabilitation measures, including ecological restoration works. The Supreme Court held that the committee had exceeded its mandate and that the NGT had relied on those recommendations in a manner that expanded the dispute beyond the question of damage caused by the event.
The Bench further criticised the NGT for effectively treating its March 9, 2016 interim order as final. The Supreme Court observed that the interim order had been passed on the basis of an initial visual inspection and without a complete appreciation of the competing evidence. Since the NGT had itself subsequently clarified that the order was interim and without prejudice to the parties' rights, the findings in that order ought to have been reconsidered during the final adjudication.
At the same time, the Supreme Court stressed that the Delhi Development Authority remained responsible for the broader rehabilitation of the Yamuna floodplains. The Court observed that the authority had duties arising from the public trust doctrine and was required to take preventive measures to avoid further deterioration of the active floodplain. However, it clarified that the legality of the DDA's permission for the 2016 event was not under consideration in the present proceedings.
The case arose from the World Culture Festival held from March 11 to 13, 2016, on about 25 hectares of the Yamuna's active floodplain upstream of the DND flyway. The event had received permissions from the concerned authorities, including the Delhi Development Authority. Alleging that the festival caused extensive damage to the floodplains, one Manoj Misra, the convener of campaign Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, and two others, Pramod Tyagi and environmental activist Anand Arya, approached the NGT.
The NGT had initially imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 5 crore shortly before the festival, after an expert committee reported that the floodplain had been severely tampered with during preparations. The tribunal subsequently held the organisers responsible for restoration and rehabilitation and directed that the Rs 5 crore deposit be used for the work. The Supreme Court, however, found significant shortcomings in the basis on which the NGT attributed the damage to the organisers.
The Bench directed the Delhi Development Authority to refund the fine of Rs 5 crore paid by Vyakti Vikas Kendra. The Court observed that the interim order had been passed on the basis of an initial visual inspection and without a complete appreciation of the competing evidence. Since the NGT had itself subsequently clarified that the order was interim and without prejudice to the parties' rights, the findings in that order ought to have been reconsidered during the final adjudication.