February 18, 2026 03:30 am (IST)
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DDA pulled up by NGT regarding World Culture Festival permission
New Delhi, Mar 3 (IBNS) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Thursday about the permission granted to the Arto of Living Foundation to hold the World Culture Festival on the Yamuna floodplains in east Delhi, according to media reports.
Reportedly, the DDA has said that it did not know about the size and scale of the event when the permission was granted, to which the NGT responded by saying that it was the DDA's duty to check on the magnitude of the program.
The Art of Living Foundation is set to hold the World Culture Festival from Mar 11-13 to mark the organisation's 35 anniversary.
According to media reports, the Foundation has claimed that the stage, being built over seven acres of area, will be the world's biggest stage ever, and it expects 3.5 million people to attend the programme.
But several environmentalists have opposed the holding of the function in the floodplains claiming that it will damage the area.
According to environmentalists, the Master Plan-2021 does not allow any construction in the floodplains, which have already shrunk from 97 square kilometres to 65 sq. km due to illegal construction.
Art of Living has claimed that the constructions will not affect the floodplains in any way.
According to media reports, leaders and government officials are also expected to attend the event.
A similar controversy had taken place in February prior to the holding of the Make in India event on Mumbai's Girgaum beach and where the stage caught fire during a cultural programme in the evening, with nearly 10,000 people, including Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, present at the venue.
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