‘You cannot get Taj Mahal again if it is destroyed’: SC raps UP govt.

Hyderabad: Chiding Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi government, Supreme Court refused to vacate for now its status quo order on construction of a multi-level parking near the iconic Taj Mahal.

Refusing to grant permission to the state to go ahead with the construction of a multi-level car parking facility surrounding the historical monument, Supreme Court during hearing of a petition on Monday, said “You (Uttar Pradesh government) cannot get Taj Mahal again if it is destroyed. Let us look at the broader picture to protect it.”

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the state had argued that if car parking was not allowed, then both international and domestic tourists would have walk more than a kilometre. The bench comprising Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta told the ASG, “You can’t get Taj again. Have a long-term perspective. People should learn to walk. You don’t have a vision document. That’s the whole problem.”