NGT slaps fine on Akshardham temple

The National Green Tribunal on Friday slapped a fine on the Akshardham temple management for carrying out expansion without prior environmental clearance and asked a committee on <g data-gr-id="38">revitalisation</g> of Yamuna to examine whether the expanded portion fell on the river’s floodplains.

“We refer the matter, particularly the issue whether the temple’s expanded part falls in the river Yamuna floodplain area or not and the second, whether the conditions of tribunal are complied with or not to principal committee constituted for ‘Maily <g data-gr-id="27">se</g> Nirmal Yamuna’ revitalisation project 2017,” a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

The NGT levelled a fine of five per cent of the total cost incurred in the expansion of temple complex, located on the river bank along NH-24.

It also directed the principal committee to submit its report within three months. “Since most of the issues raised in the petition have been addressed in July 7 judgement regarding two office memorandums of Ministry of Environment and Forests, there is no point in making a third committee to look into the issue when already two committees have been formed on similar issues,” the Bench said.

The tribunal had formed the first principal committee on January 13 to carry out its directives regarding a project to revitalise the river Yamuna. The second committee was formed on July 7 

after  the NGT quashed two office memorandums of MoEF on environmental clearances to already constructed projects or those where construction has commenced.