Supreme Court pulls up Yogi government on Taj upkeep

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for the poor upkeep of the historic Taj Mahal and asked it to file a fresh vision document within four weeks with respect to the steps it wanted to take in this regard. A Bench of Justices S.A. Bobde, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Deepak Gupta expressed displeasure to the counsel for not preserving the ancient monument and to restore its pristine glory.

The Bench made it clear to the counsel “we will not hear any of your applications without the Vision Document to keep Taj Mahal safe and secure for many centuries. How can we hear the case of a non-vision document? Only after the Vision Document will the case proceed. We are worried about the Taj Mahal. We do not oppose any activity of the government. but we are worried about the location.” It granted four weeks to the State to file a fresh vision document to be prepared in consultation with the Archaeological Survey of India. The court had earlier asked the expert panel to prepare a complete vision document incorporating all suggestions including the one to increase the forest cover in the Taj Trapezium Zone.