Known to politically incorrect statements, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said on Friday the Rs200-crore Akshardham temple in Delhi should not have been built on Yamuna riverbed.
He resented the “devastation of Yamuna” due to construction of the temple and has sent a draft copy of the riverbed regulation zone (RRZ) to the agricultural ministry for consultation.
Condemning the government for turning a blind eye to the construction of the 30-acre temple in a no-constructionzone, Ramesh said, “It sets a bad precedent.”
He said the temple did not get clearance from the environment ministry. “If you ask me, if I would have given it clearance, the answer would be no,” Ramesh said.
The construction of the temple nearly 10 years ago, allegedly with the backing ofthen home minister LK Advani of BJP, led to more projects on Yamuna floodplain, a region supposed to be under environmental protection.
After the temple the Commonwealth Games village came up on the floodplain and a sprawling bus yard of Delhi Transport Corporation.
The minister said he was concerned at encroachmentsand wanted to protect riverbeds using a law similar to the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification. “We are awaiting the agriculture ministry’s suggestions,” he said.
Ramesh, however, said he had no plans of sending a demolition notice to the temple. “It has already happened [temple construction]. We can’t demolish the Akshardham complex.
“We can stop what is yet to happen, we want to protect the remaining riverbed,” he said.
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