‘Either Restore Taj or Destroy it’: SC Lambastes Centre, UP Govt

The apex court lambasted the authorities, saying that “you either preserve the Taj Mahal or destroy it.”

Taj Mahal, located in Agra in Uttar Pradesh is one of the most popular tourist sites of the state.

(Photo: Reuters)

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, 11 July, gave a rap on the knuckles of the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution and not complying with the suggestions of the 2015 standing committee report.

The apex court lambasted the authorities, saying "you either restore the Taj Mahal or destroy it."

It expressed anguish over the failure of the Uttar Pradesh government to come out with a vision document to preserve and protect the Taj Mahal. The court said that preserving the historic monument had become a "hopeless cause".

It directed the Centre to furnish full details of the steps taken and action required to be taken for protecting the iconic monument, PTI reported.

A bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said no concrete steps have been taken by the government, despite a parliamentary standing committee report on Taj's protection.

The Centre told the bench that Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur was assessing air pollution level in and around the mausoleum and will give its report in four months.

It said a special committee has also been set up to find the source of pollution in and around the Taj, which will suggest measures to prevent it.

The bench said it will hear the matter on a day-to-day basis from 31 July.

The apex court had, on 1 May, suggested that the Centre take the assistance of experts from India and abroad to first assess the damage and then take steps to restore the historic monument.

"We don’t know whether you have or perhaps don’t have the expertise. Even if you have the expertise, you are not utilising it. Or perhaps you don’t care," the court had said.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)