Unhappy over the "ad hoc" measures being taken by the State to protect the iconic Taj Mahal, the Supreme Court on Friday tasked the authorities concerned for protecting the ancient monument to come out with a comprehensive roadmap to preserve the historic 17th century mausoleum for the next several centuries. The roadmap is expected to be filed after eight weeks.
A Bench comprising Justices Madan B lokur and Deepak Gupta had asked the UP government and the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) authority to come out with steps to preserve the Mughal-era monument for all times to come. The TTZ authority presented a plan before the Court detailing a slew of measures which included ban on construction activities within 500 metres from the monument, plying of only CNG vehicles near Taj, sufficient supply of electricity to discourage use of generator sets and complete prohibition of burning of waste and garbage in the vicinity of the monument.
The Bench felt these were only interim measures and that the authority must approach the issue with a broader outlook. It said that members of the civil society including experts from different fields should be involved in devising a strategy to protect the Taj Mahal and plan a comprehensive vision document to protect the Taj and the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) spread across 10,400 square kilometres covering five districts of UP - Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras, Etah and Bharatput district in Rajasthan.