SC raps UP govt in Taj Mahal protection case

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to place before it a vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal and asked why there was a “sudden flurry of activities” in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).

The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq kms spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta questioned Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the UP government, on why leather industries and hotels were coming up in the TTZ when such activities were stopped earlier, reports PTI.

“There is a sudden flurry of activities in the TTZ. Is there any particular reason for that? Leather industries and hotels are coming up there. Why? It should remain stopped. Why this activity is there in the TTZ?,” it asked.

Mehta submitted that he would seek instructions on the issue and get back to the court.

The bench also asked the state government to file within four week a vision document on protection and preservation of the 17th century mausoleum.

The court had in December last year said that a detailed and comprehensive vision document and plan with a futuristic perspective which could protect and preserve the iconic monument, its environs and the TTZ for at least a few hundred years, should be prepared.