Environment issues not justifiable: Rawat on Auli wedding

Amidst environmental concerns over the impending wedding extravaganza of the controversial Gupta brothers' two sons in Auli, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday strongly defended the high profile marriage and said such issues were not justifiable.

Rawat said that at its investors summit last year, the state government had itself called for developing wedding destinations in the hill state.

"The environmental issues concerning Auli are not justifiable as it is not an alpine meadow. Auli is simply a tourist place where there are hotels of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and others," he said.

"This should be seen as an investment opportunity and as an exercise to promote Uttarakhand as a wedding destination," he said.

Meanwhile, the controversial NRIs in South Africa have promised to deposit Rs 28 lakh with the local authorities for cleaning of Auli after the marriage, official sources said.

Ajay Gupta's son Suryakant will get married on June 19-20, while Atul Gupta's son Shashank will take the "lavan-fere" (the sacred marriage ceremony) on June 21-22.

Local media reports quote officials closely monitoring the wedding arrangements to cost an estimated Rs 200 crore. Almost all hotels and resorts in the ski destination have been booked.

On Monday, the High Court in Nainital imposed restrictions on plying of helicopers to ferry guests for the wedding. The High Court also asked the state government to ensure that no environmental loss occurs due to the event.

--IANS

str/rtp