On Wednesday (July 11th, 2018) Supreme Court condemned the authorities for not showing any interest to protect the iconic Taj Mahal, saying the preservation of the monument may be a “hopeless cause.”
The Green bench comprising of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta of Supreme Court of India observed that despite a long-standing moratorium from the Supreme Court the authority in charge of the Taj Trapezium Zone still entertaining applications from industrialists to expand their factories into the protected zone.
The Green bench told petitioner/activist M.C. Mehta that if “they [the authorities] trouble us we will trouble them back,” and directed the chairman of the authority to appear before the court on the next date, July 31st, 2018.
On May, the Archaeological Survey of India said unwashed socks worn by visitors and rampant algae seem to turn the Taj Mahal from its natural white to yellow, brown and green.
Moreover, on May 1st, 2018 Mr. M.C. Mehta submitted photographs to the bench showing the discolouration on the pristine white of the Taj Mahal and said the upkeep of the UNESCO World Heritage site was in shambles.
Justice Madan B. Lokur had wondered whether the Taj Mahal in its present discoloured form would end up being the “eighth wonder of the world.”
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