Submit vision document for Taj by Nov. 15: SC to UP govt

◗ The SC had asked UP government and ASI to submit the vision document for the protection of Taj Mahal.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted time till November 15 to the Uttar Pradesh government and Archaeological Survey of India ( ASI) to submit the vision document for the protection of the Taj Mahal to restore it to its pristine glory.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta gave time on a request from Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who sought more time for filing the document. At the outset, he told the bench that it would be difficult to declare Agra a heritage city.

Justice Lokur asked the state government to consider declaring certain portions of the area surrounding the Taj Mahal heritage so that the character of the ancient monument could be preserved. The ASG told the court that the Ahmedabadbased Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology was assisting it on declaring areas as the heritage city and that it would consider the court’s suggestion.

The court had earlier asked the expert panel to prepare a complete vision document incorporating all suggestions including the one to increase the forest cover in the Taj Trapezium Zone ( TTZ). They should also take note of the industries in the zone and pollution caused by them. The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in UP and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

In the last hearing, the court was upset with the damage being caused to the Taj and it had orally observed, “Either Taj should be preserved or demolished”.