SC Sets Aside 2017 NGT Order Against Art of Living For Damage Caused to Yamuna Floodplains During 2016 Event

Supreme Court set aside a 2017 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to refund the Rs 5 crore environmental compensation which was deposited by self-styled spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AoL) Foundation, reported New Indian Express. The organisation had deposited the fine after the green court heard that the Foundation damaged the Yamuna floodplain during its World Culture Festival in 2016.

The Supreme Court said that the NGT’s finding was based on an expert committee report prepared in “violation of natural justice” without giving AoL a chance to submit evidence.

The top court added that the committee’s first estimate of Rs 42.02 crore and thereafter 13.29 crore was arbitrary with no conclusive proof that floodplain was “completely destroyed”.

Following the event in 2016, an expert committee had told the NGT that rehabilitation of the Yamuna floodplain, “destroyed” during the cultural extravaganza organised by AoL, will cost Rs 13.29 crore and take almost ten years.

The expert committee, headed by Shashi Shekhar, secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, had at the time informed the green panel that major restoration work has to be carried out to compensate for the damage to Yamuna floodplains.

“It has been estimated that approximately 120 hectares (about 300 acres) of floodplains of west (right bank) of the river Yamuna and about 50 hectares (120 acres) floodplains of the eastern side (left bank) of the river have been adversely impacted ecologically at different magnitudes,” the committee had said.

The NGT had in 2016 allowed AOL to hold a three-day ‘World Culture Festival’ on the Yamuna flood plains while expressing its helplessness in banning the event because of “fait accompli”.

Green court panel finds serious chromite pollution in Odisha’s Sukinda Valley 

A government panel has found chromium contamination from chromite mining by a private Ferro Alloys company in Sukinda valley. The panel report blamed serious lapses in drainage management, overburden dump stabilisation and treatment of hexavalent chromium-bearing effluent, with untreated runoff allegedly discharged into Damasala Nallah, the New Indian Express reported. 

The findings were placed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) , next hearing is on November 2.. The committee, comprising officials from the Union Environment ministry’s regional office, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), Sukinda forest range and Jajpur district administration, identified several deficiencies in the mining operations of the company.

The report said there was no systematic drainage system to channel storm water from overburden dumps. Runoff was cutting across mine roads, causing soil erosion and weakening mine slopes and benches, some of which had collapsed. The committee termed the situation a violation of mine safety requirements and a threat to mining operations.

A major concern was untreated runoff containing hexavalent chromium (Cr6+). Though the effluent treatment plant (ETP) was operational, a separate drain carrying runoff from the overburden dumps was releasing water into Damasala Nallah without treatment. The committee said the prescribed standard operating procedure for Cr6+ treatment was also not being followed

Himachal forest department to file FIR over alleged glyphosate use on forest land for pea cultivation

In a warning against soil and water contamination environmentalists have raised concern over the use of glyphosate on forest department land for pea cultivation in parts of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, DTE reported. 

Mandi Divisional Forest Officer told the outlet that crops planted illegally on forest land had been destroyed and FIRs would be filed against those responsible.

Officials said the practice had been reported in some areas between Thachi and Dharghat and could affect forest soil and nearby water sources.

Pesticide Action Network India says glyphosate is registered in India only for weed control in tea plantations and has called for stronger restrictions on its use.

1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup

The global annual event of single-day ocean cleanup by volunteers resulted in over 1.3m plastic bottles collected from beaches, rivers and waterways last year, reported the Guardian. 

About 630,000 people took part in the International Coastal Cleanup in 2025, removing almost 13.9m pieces of rubbish from more than 15,000 miles of coastline and waterways.

Plastic bottles were the most commonly recorded item, while more than 1.2m cigarette butts were litter-picked. Volunteers picked up 885,000 plastic bottle caps, 581,000 plastic shopping bags and more than 1m other plastic bags and food containers.