After being rapped on the knuckles by Supreme Court over maintenance of Taj Mahal, the UP government decided to present a ‘vision document’ on the 17th century mausoleum in Agra before the Apex court on July 26.
Government spokesman Awanish Awasthi said through a WhatsApp message that the government would present a vision document on Taj Mahal but did not elaborate.
Sources in Tourism department said that the document was prepared by Delhi School of Planning and Architecture and entailed the government’s planning to beautify and protect the monument from encroachments.
The document includes construction of a rubber check dam to be built at a cost of Rs 300 crore on Yamuna river, the foundation stone of which was laid down by Yogi Adityanath in October 2017.
Government officials said that besides restoration work around Taj Mahal, an orientation centre at the eastern gate and beautification of Mehtab Bagh were also underway.
last week, while hearing a petition filed by environmentalist MC Mehta, the Supreme Court asked the Yogi government on why industrial activities have picked up pace in the 10,400 sq km Taj Trapezium Zone (TEZ) area comprising Mathura, Agra, Hathras, Etah and Firozabad, which was created for the protection and conservation of the structure.
The Bench also reprimanded the government saying that the issue called for long-term solutions, not short term and knee-jerk methods.