Sri Sri Ravishankar's Art of Living has been fined Rs 5 crore by a green court.
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar said his cultural extravaganza on Yamuna floodplains in Delhi last year has caused no pollution and the experts have been unable to prove what the damage was. The spiritual leader, whose organization has been hauled up for polluting Yamuna and fined Rs 5 crore by a green court, said the situation was best explained by the Hindi idiom "Ulta chor kotwal to daante" which roughly translates to "Look who's talking".
"They said we made it (the Yamuna) dirty. I said, 'Tell me where'. We didn't pollute the water. The water was already so polluted you couldn't go anywhere near it," he said.
Last month, an expert panel appointed by the nation's top environmental court had said it would take a decade's hard work and Rs 42 crore to reverse the damage done by the three-day event organized by Art of Living.
Sri Sri Ravishankar, who denies any wrongdoing, told NDTV, "We stand by that. No pollution. They couldn't prove what the damage was. I am sure we will put across the truth and the fact that we know." His organization has refused to pay the fine.
In his address to delegates at a summit on natural farming at the Art of Living headquarters, he had referred to the matter again, saying, "They have no proof. We didn't pollute the water - the water was already so polluted you couldn't go anywhere near it".
The environmentalists had asked that the World Culture Festival -- which included a 7-acre stage for 35,000 musicians and dancers, newly built dirt tracks and 650 portable toilets across 1,000 acres -- be disallowed. But the court said it was too late to call it off.
The Art of Living said it had been "victims of a conspiracy". "We have never caused any damage to the environment but have in fact worked for preserving and reviving it through various environment-related projects over the years," the organisation said.