Supreme Court seeks suggestions to preserve Taj Mahal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted four weeks time for submission of “vision document” for the protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The court 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 Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur, Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta was hearing a petition seeking protection of the Taj Mahal. In the last hearing, the court was upset with the damage being caused to the monument and it had orally observed, “Either Taj should be preserved or demolished.” It had asked the Centre and others for a coordinated effort in preparing a vision document.