Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, Oct 27: The Supreme Court Friday stayed its order directing demolition of a multi-level car parking being built near the Taj Mahal and asked the UP government to submit a comprehensive policy on pollution in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).
The court, while asking the authorities to maintain status quo at the site, said no construction could be carried out there. The multi-level parking facility was being built a km away from the Taj. “We do not know how hotels can be built there. The problem is that all measures seem to be ad-hoc,” a bench comprising Justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta said.
At the outset, the bench asked Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the UP government, about the policy for protection of the 17th century white marble mausoleum.
TTZ extends 10,400 sq.km around the historic Taj Mahal and is aimed at protecting the monument and its environs.
Mehta told the bench they had a comprehensive policy on the issue. The bench observed that applications were being filed before it for construction of hotels in the area and felling of trees.
Mehta told the court that initially there was a plan to build an orientation centre around a km away from the Taj Mahal but later it was decided that a multi-level parking facility should be built there for tourists. He said they had taken the approval of the TTZ and developmental authorities for that.
When Mehta referred to the apex court’s October 24 order to demolish the parking lot, the bench said, “We will maintain status quo, but no further construction will be permitted there.”
The state government told the bench that construction has already stopped there.
When Mehta said the pollution issue concerning TTZ would cover a vast area which might not be required to be gone into at this stage as the court was hearing the parking lot matter, the bench said, “It will have an impact on the Taj”.
During the hearing, the bench observed that one lakh trees are to be planted in the area but there was no space for it.
Environmentalist MC Mehta, who has filed a plea seeking protection of the Taj from polluting gases and deforestation told the bench that TTZ was an “ecologically sensitive area” and the government should have come out with a comprehensive policy on it. He said he would file the policy within two weeks, after which the court posted the matter for hearing on November 15.
