BENGALURU: Isha Outreach on Tuesday clarified before the Karnataka High Court that ‘Cauvery Calling’ was its initiative and not that of the state government. The counsel for Isha Outreach made the submission before a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum when the court sought to know during the hearing of a suo motu PIL, whether Isha Foundation and Isha Outreach were collecting money from the public by projecting Cauvery Calling as a project of the state government.
The counsel for Isha Outreach also told the court that it has stated on its website as well, that the initiative was not that of the Karnataka government, and that the saplings planted as a part of the project were on land belonging to farmers.
During the previous hearing, the court had observed inconsistencies in the statement of objects and suggested to the Additional Government Advocate that a clarification be issued on whether the state government was involved in the project in any way. On Tuesday, the government sought time to place on record its position, after which the court adjourned the hearing to March 8.