New Delhi: Days after the Supreme Court pulled up the government for not taking initiatives to preserve Taj Mahal, environment minister Harsh Vardhan will be meeting culture minister Mahesh Shrma to discuss the preservation of the monument with other stakeholders.
"There is absolutely no willingness to protect the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal has to be protected. Either we will shut it down or you demolish or restore it,” the apex court had observed on July 11.
The meeting will be attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, HRD minister Satyapal Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and officials from Agra Development Authority to discuss “proper steps to be taken to preserve Taj Mahal in view of the recent Supreme Court judgment.”
The secretary of culture Raghvendra Singh, Director General of Archaeological Survey of India Usha Sharma would be present too.
On July 11, the Supreme Court observed that industrial units operating in Agra should be shut down. The court was aghast to know that Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) Authority was considering the expansion of industries in Agra. It reminded the authorities that “there was an ad hoc moratorium on expansion of industries.”
The Supreme Court has been monitoring the preservation of Taj Mahal for the last three decades. In 1996, the Supreme Court banned the use of coal and coke in the industries located in the Taj Trapezium Zone—the area of 10,400 sq km around the monument—to protect it from environment pollution.
The centuries old white marble monument has developed green and blue patches due to the environment pollution.
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