SC Notice to Akshardham Temple Trust on petition by Green Activist

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Akshardham Temple Trust, admitting an appeal by environmental activist Manoj Mishra, convenor of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, an organisation founded to revive and protect the river and its floodplains, challenging a National Green Tribunal order of 2019. The notice was issued on July 13.

Mishra, in an appeal to the Supreme Court, pointed out that the NGT had in effect overturned its own decision directing payment of compensation of 5% of project cost by the temple trust for seeking post-facto environmental clearance for expansion of its complex on the floodplains following a letter by the temple authorities in 2019.

In 2013, Mishra moved NGT against the expansion of a cultural complex on Akshardham premises without prior environmental clearance, which is mandatory under the law.

The temple trust, known as the Bochasanvasi Sri Akshar Purshottam Sanstha, applied for an environmental clearance after beginning construction on what is categorised as a flood zone recognized by NGT’s own principal committee as an area likely to be submerged during a one in 25-year flood in the absence of an embankment.

NGT, after hearing the matter, directed in 2015 that the Akshardham Temple Trust pay an environmental compensation of 5% of project cost for violating the environment clearance norms.

It had also directed a principal committee constituted by NGT with river and water experts from Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi; Delhi University; Jawaharlal Nehru University and others to ascertain whether the construction was indeed on the Yamuna floodplains.

The Akshardham Temple Trust sent a letter on November 1, 2019 wherein it claimed that NGT’s 2015 order doesn’t stand.

“It is humbly submitted that the above case has now become infructuous as no view has been expressed by the principal committee and the undersigned is suffering for no reason whatsoever. That the regular statutory renewals are being hampered due to pendency of this case and both the SC decision as well as the other earlier Manoj Mishra case on Yamuna categorically held that the Akshardham temple is a sanctioned structure…”

According to Mishra’s appeal in SC, based on Akshardham Temple Trust’s letter, NGT had reopened the case and without hearing any objections by the appellant, directed that no payment was required to be made by the trust in the “absence of any violation.”

“During the hearing, SC asked how can the Tribunal pass such an order based on a letter? Where does the Tribunal get the power to overturn a decision based on a letter?” said Mishra.

“The expansion was not on the flood plains. It was in ‘O’zone (river zone). The expansion was on already sanctioned space. The judges in SC did say that a letter cannot be the basis for an order but we will soon submit a detailed response to all the contentions,” said Sanjay Upadhyay, advocate representing the Akshardham Temple Trust.

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