Supreme Court Seeks ASI Response To Vision Document To Protect Taj Mahal From Pollution

The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Archaeological Survey of India regarding the Vision Document prepared for the protection of the Taj Mahal.  

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan considered an application filed by Shri Raman, who raised concerns about environmental pollution in the Taj Trapezium Zone. Senior Advocate Mr. Sanjay Upadhyay, representing the applicant argued for a more holistic approach to mitigating the adverse impacts of pollution in Agra. He submitted that the problems arose due to the ineffective functioning of the Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.

On April 22 ,Mr. Mr. Upadhyay informed the court about the applicant's passing. However, the Court noted the importance of the issues raised, including the implementation of a Vision Document directed by an earlier order dated 08.12.2017 to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution.

The Court also noted an earlier order dated 26.07.2018, which recorded the preparation of a Vision Document by the School of Planning and Architecture and the State of Uttar Pradesh, without consultation with the Archaeological Survey of India, the agency responsible for maintaining the Taj Mahal.

As a result, the Supreme Court directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to produce a copy of the Vision Plan and instructed the Archaeological Survey of India to submit its response to the Vision Plan by way of an Affidavit within two months. The matter is now scheduled for further consideration on 11.07.2024, to discuss the implementation of the Vision Plan along with the comments of the Archaeological Survey of India. Mr. Sanjay Upadhyay, along with Advocates Saumitra Jaiswal, Gitanjali Sanyal, and Surya Gupta, appeared on behalf of the Applicant in this matter.

The application was filed in the case MC Mehta v. Union of India, a writ petition pending since 1984, in which the Court has been issuing various directions from time to time to deal with environmental pollution.

Click here to read the order