Akshardham, Village shouldnt have got green nod: Jairam (Times of India 08 January 2011)

New Delhi: Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh set the cat among the pigeons on Friday when he said the Akshardham Temple,a project dear to BJP leader L K Advani,and the Commonwealth Games Village should not have been given environmental clearance as they have come up on the Yamuna river bed.This, however, doesnt mean that he wants these sprawling structures to be torn down,he hastened to add.But by pointing out that they have violated green norms,Ramesh has implied that previous regimes have been lax towards environment standards.And this could get some hackles up.If your question is whether the Games Village got environmental clearance, the answer is yes.Should it have I dont think so, he said during a news conference called to announce the new CRZ norms.