Panel Formed to Tackle Pollution, Outcome of Supreme Court’s Criticism to Centre

On Monday a committee was set up by the centre to lodge the matter of industrial pollution affecting the Taj Mahal. Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of India said that the committee would be comprised of the officials from the Environment Ministry, along with the experts from the National Environment Engineering Research Institute, the Indian Institute of Technology and other fora. CK Mishra, Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change would lead this committee.

This committee was formed just days after the Supreme Court summoned the BJP-led government at the Centre for not acting quickly to protect the 16^th-century marble mausoleum, and said that its preservation was a hopeless cause.

On July 11, 2018, the SC told the Centre that either it will shut down the Taj Mahal or they can demolish or restore it. This statement was made while hearing a petition that called for the maintenance of the monument.

The union minister said that the Centre respects the court’s observations and would take required measures to rectify the situation.