CHENNAI: Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore built the Adiyogi statue only after obtaining permission from the collector, and a case filed in Madras High Court in this regard has been closed after it presented ‘substantial evidence,’ Dinesh Raja, spokesperson of the centre, told a press conference in Chennai on Saturday.
Presenting what he claimed were ‘relevant documentary evidence,’ Raja said, “The case was filed in January 2017 alleging that the statue was erected without approval from the departments concerned. Permission to erect the statue was granted by the Coimbatore collector in September 2016 based on reports and recommendations. The statue was installed in 2017. As per the High Court’s directives, we had also submitted all documents to the Department of Town Planning.”
Raja refuted the allegations that Isha Yoga Centre had encroached upon 44 acres of tribal land, citing revenue documents that showed the land had been used for agriculture for a century. He also claimed that a report under the RTI Act had confirmed that Isha did not encroach upon the land. As regards the claims that buildings were constructed on the elephant corridor, he said these were untrue and the centre had submitted evidence to prove its point.