Questions govt. on action taken to tackle pollution

• Protecting the Taj Mahal means taking care of everything around the mausoleum commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1632, the Supreme Court said by a three-judge Bench, led by Justice Madan B. Lokur referring  Taj as only “centerpiece” laying emphasis on protecting the forest cover, the river Yamuna and the grounds of the Taj Mahal should also be saved from pollution.
• 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.

Previous Judgement

In its 1996 judgment, the Supreme Court had noted that the Taj Mahal was not threatened by only traditional causes of decay, but also social and economic conditions.

Issue and its effect

• Industrial emissions, brick kilns, vehicular traffic and generator-sets polluted air around the TTZ.
• The monument itself was slowly turning yellow from the collected grime.

The Hindu