UP Govt’s draft vision doc on protection of Taj Mahal proposes declaring area a no-plastic zone, closure of polluting industries

Lucknow, July 30 (KNN) In the first draft report of its vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal in the Supreme Court, Uttar Pradesh Government said the entire precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region should be closed.

The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta.

The vision document was submitted by Yogi Adityanath led UP Government after the Supreme Court on July 11 slammed the Centre and the UP government that if immediate steps were not taken, the Taj Mahal could lose its status as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the government, filed the draft on behalf of the state government.

The Uttar Pradesh government told the apex court that the entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone. The use of bottled water inside should also be prohibited, it said.

The state government said all polluting industries in region should be closed, while more tourism hubs should be created.

It said a comprehensive traffic management plan was needed to promote pedestrian movement in the Taj heritage precinct.

The draft vision document also said roads along 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.

Meanwhile, the bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta slammed Uttar Pradesh government and questioned why was the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) not consulted while framing the draft.

"Why have you given a draft plan? Are we supposed to vet it for you? Is it our job to vet it?" the bench asked the counsel appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government.

The apex court said it was "surprising" that the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), responsible for protection of the 17th century monument, was not consulted in framing the draft report.

During the hearing, the bench asked Attorney General K K Venugopal whether the Centre or the concerned authorities had submitted the management plan on Taj Mahal to UNESCO's World Heritage Centre in Paris.

The apex court also asked the AG which department of the Centre and the state government was responsible for maintenance of the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).

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.

The top court also asked the state government to supply the draft report to a panel of conservation experts, including INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), for their comments.