SC to hear plea to declare Agra as heritage city

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday posted for August 28 the hearing of a plea related to declaring Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, as a heritage city.

A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta said it would hear the plea on August 28.

Environmentalist M.C. Mehta, who filed the main petition for preservation and maintenance of the Taj Mahal in 1985, had filed an application 10 years ago to declare Agra a heritage city.

Mehta said the government has done nothing to prevent encroachment in and around the 17th century monument.

On Monday, the Centre told the court that the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Commissioner of the Agra Division were responsible for maintenance of the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).

TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.