However, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told NDTV that he would rather go to jail than pay the fine.
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If the Art of Living fails to pay up, then the NGT would attach the grant which Culture Ministry is supposed to pay to AOL, it said, adding that the next hearing on the matter would be on April 4.
The AOL agreed to deposit Rs 25 lakhs today itself and the balance amount within the stipulated time when asked by the NGT if a part of the penalty could be paid today as it “environment compensation” .
It said all authorities have to ensure no pollution is spread in the Yamuna.
Meanwhile, the tribunal pulled up the Ministry of Water Resources for not doing anything to protect Yamuna from pollution despite several directions.
The tribunal had asked all the parties to consider the impact of such an event on the environment, river, ecology and biodiversity. He had also said that AOL was not “satisfied” with the verdict of the NGT and would appeal against it. It asked him to leave the courtroom.
DDA had also informed the NGT that it granted permission for 24.44 hectare for holding of the event in which 3.5 lakh to 5 lakh people are likely to participate and has till now not found any violations of its conditions by organizers of the event.
In a series of tweets, Naidu said it is an event to celebrate cultural diversity and “will bring glory to India ” .
Terming the construction of temporary structure on the flood plains of Yamuna for Art of Living World Culture Festival from 11-13 February as “destruction unseen in history” , Sharad Yadav of the JD-U also asked “under what pressure was Indian Army deployed to build pontoon bridge for one person?”
The National Green Tribunal cleared on Wednesday a controversial mega cultural event on the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi over the weekend despite fears of irreparable damage to the area’s delicate ecosystem. “Let’s celebrate & join d festival”.
It may be noted that the event will kick-off at 5 pm today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the inauguration.
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The green court said spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living foundation will pay a fine of Rs five crore before the three-day World Culture Festival opened on Friday and the rest will be decided after assessment of damage to the flood plains.
