The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday filed the first draft of its vision document on the protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal in the Supreme Court. The state government said the entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region should be closed, PTI reported.
On July 11, the Supreme Court pulled up the Centre and state governments for not acting fast to protect the Taj Mahal. The court said the preservation of the 17th-century monument was a “hopeless cause”. Five days later, the Centre set up a committee to address the matter of industrial pollution affecting the monument.
The Uttar Pradesh government mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta. Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the state, told the Supreme Court that the entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone. The use of bottled water inside the precinct should also be prohibited, she said.
The state said more tourism hubs should be created and a comprehensive traffic management plan put in place to promote pedestrian movement within the precinct.
The draft vision document also said roads along the Yamuna riverfront should be planned in such a manner that traffic is limited. The government also mentioned there should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural plantations.
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