The Supreme Court slammed the UP government while questioning for the steps taken to protect Taj Mahal from Pollution.

A three-judge Bench, led by Justice Madan B. Lokur, said the monument is only the “centre piece.” The forest cover, the river Yamuna and the grounds of the Taj Mahal should also be saved from pollution. When Prof Meenakshi Dhote, project coordinator for the vision document, said her team had not been given correct data on industries operating in the TTZ, the bench said, “If the government gives incorrect data to the panel, it will come up with an incorrect vision document. If Taj Mahal goes, you will not get a second chance to retrieve it.”

The bench told additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the UP government, that in the 1996 judgment, the court had identified 511 polluting industries and wanted to know what was done about their relocation

The Bench said the Vision Document for the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) should examine and end the proliferation of hazardous industries, foundries, seepage and emissions which are slowly but steadily destroying the Taj Mahal and the protective cover around it.