TAJ MAHAL AREA SHOULD BE NOPLASTIC ZONE: UP TO SC

: The entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region closed, the Uttar Pradesh government suggested in its first draft report of a vision document on protection and preservation of the 17th century monument filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The Uttar Pradesh government mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta.

The vision document was submitted after an angry SC on July 11 hit out the state government for its apathy towards the Mughal era monument, considered one of the seven wonders of the world.

Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the government, told the bench they be allowed to file the document. The court allowed the counsel to file the draft.

The government told the SC that more tourism hubs should be created and a comprehensive traffic management plan was needed to promote pedestrian movement in the Taj heritage precinct. The vision document also said roads along the Yamuna riverfront should be planned so traffic is limited and pedestrian movement encouraged. According to the government, there should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural plantations.

During the hearing earlier this month, the bench had drawn a parallel between the Taj Mahal and Paris’ Eiffel Tower, saying the mausoleum was perhaps more beautiful, but India continued to lose tourists due to the situation prevailing there.

NEW DELHI