SC slams UP govt for poor upkeep of Taj Mahal

New Delhi, Feb 13: The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed 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.

The apex court had earlier slammed the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) authority for their failure to restore the pristine glory of Taj Mahal and asked what would happen if Unesco withdraws the world heritage site tag of the iconic monument.

The apex court came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government for filing a draft report of the vision document on protection of the Taj Mahal and observed it was "surprising" that the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which was responsible for preservation of the ivory white marble mausoleum, was not even consulted in the process.

In March this year, the apex court had asked Uttar Pradesh government to place before it a draft of vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj and the environment in the Taj Trapezium Zone, which is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

The top court has been monitoring developments in the area to protect the monument, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631. The mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.