The Art of Living had moved an application for furnishing a bank guarantee of the balance compensation amount which has been dismissed by the NGT. We find the verdict unjust and, if need be, after reviewing the order we will go to the Supreme Court. We have not violated any law or done any wrong.
We don't agree with the observations of the Tribunal. The Art of Living has neither polluted air, water or earth. We have left the WCF site in a better condition than what we had got. We have an extensive repertoire for environment work and find these allegations unacceptable.
The Art of Living has never said that we don't have funds. We were ready and willing to give a bank guarantee which served the purpose but our application has been wrongly dismissed. We will test the legality and see how we can correct the judgment.
No scientific assessment of the site has yet been done. On a brief visual inspection, allegations have been made and we have been asked to compensate an amount arrived at arbitrarily. The damage has not even been assessed. We are therefore not happy and will consider all options.
We would like to point out that what a section of the media is enthusiastically calling a fine is not a fine but a compensation deposit.
