SC seeks comprehensive report for long-term protection of Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal must be preserved for posterity, the Supreme Court said on Friday, insisting on a “long-term” and “holistic” plan from the Uttar Pradesh government that will ensure the monument is preserved not for one or two generations but at least another 400 years.

The main monument, which was completed in 1648, is estimated to have a life span of at least 800 years. However, the Taj Mahal has shown signs of deterioration over the years due to increasing air pollution, which has turned the famed marble structure yellow.

The court wants the decay arrested and has over the past few years created the Taj Trapezium Zone Authority and shut down polluting units such as power plants, refineries and other industries near the structure, which attracts about 8 million visitors annually, with more 800,000 from overseas.


The court has cracked down on plans to commercialise the area around the Taj and halted the cutting of trees. These measures have had some positive results.

At the hearing of the case on November 22, the court demanded a vision document on how the government proposes to develop the area and also protect the monu-