HC Notice to Art of Living; PIL alleges illegal construction

Bangalore, Oct 15: There is trouble brewing for the Art of Living (AOL), which is the spiritual organization founded by godman Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The Karnataka High Court issued a notice to AOL following a petition filed that questioned the alleged illegal structures on the water spread area of Udipalya kere in Kaggalipura, Bangalore South.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by advocate N Sriram Reddy who sought a direction from the court to demolish the illegal structures. Reddy contended that in order to maintain the ecological balance, the existing irrigation tanks needs to be maintained.

The tanks were constructed way back in 1960 to provide irrigation water to farmers nearby on a registered catchment area of 42.52 hectares and water spread area of 14.8 hectares. Over the course of time, the tank became a lake and absolutely no area in the eastern, western or the northern side of the tanks.

The petition slammed the AOL foundation for acquiring the land illegally and constructing buildings there without permission. It also contended that the Department of Irrigation did not take the matter seriously while it was their duty to demolish the illegal constructions.

OneIndia News