The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday allowed the Art of living (Aol) Foundation another week to file its response on an expert committee report on the Yamuna. The report had said the cultural extragavanza completely destroyed the riverbed.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar has directed Aol to file its response by September 12.
The expert panel comprised senior scientists and experts from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and other agencies.
The 47-page report by it pointed out that, the floodplain has lost ‘almost all its natural vegetation’ like trees, shrubs, tall grasses as well as aquatic vegetation including water hyacinth.
The AOl had, however, refuted the findings saying that the report was biased, unscientific, lacked credibility. The Green court on the other hand condemned such statements as irresponsible, to say the least.