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No night viewing of Taj during mahotsav: SC PTI, New Delhi, Sept 27: A grand festival marking 350th year of Taj Mahal, beginning today, ran into rough weather as the Supreme Court said it cannot permit the Uttar Pradesh government to go ahead with the celebrations near the world heritage monument without the Archaeological Survey of India and the security agencies giving proper clearance. A bench comprising Ms Justice Ruma Pal, Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice S H Kapadia severely criticised the state for coming to the SC with applications bereft of any details on the security arrangements and the possible environmental impact on the monument and its surroundings. The state had sought permission “to organise cultural programmes to celebrate the occasion of completion of 350 years of Taj Mahal, on the banks of river Yamuna behind Taj Mahal and adjacent to Mehtab Bagh on and around full moon nights in the coming six months commencing September 27.” The state’s application seeking permission to allow night viewing of Taj Mahal during the six-month period on moonlit nights also met with a similar fate as the court posted the two applications for hearing on October 5. The bench issued notice to the Centre, the ASI and asked the counsel appearing for the Union environment ministry to ascertain the views of the home ministry about the security concerns expressed by the court in relation to opening the monument during the nights. Amicus curiae Mr Krishan Mahajan said the Uttar Pradesh government has come to the court in the last minute and has not conducted any environmental impact assessment nor has submitted the site plan for the celebrations near the 17th-century monument. The state government, through counsel Mr Ashok Desai, had submitted an elaborate plan of arrangements made by the authorities for the celebrations near the monument but the court termed the applications as “very very vague” . On the opening of Taj Mahal for three nights in a lunar month during which the moon stays brightest, the bench asked as to whether proper clearance has been taken from the security agencies under the Union home ministry which had in the recent past said that the monument faced threat from terrorist organisations. The bench said there was definitely threat of theft and damage to the monument in the night and it could not pass orders permitting night viewing of Taj Mahal without satisfying from all possible angles of the matter. On the other hand, the Uttar Pradesh government said there was no hitch in the inauguration of the Taj Mahotsav in Agra to mark the 350 years of Mughal monument, as it has already obtained the proper permission of the ASI for the same. “The inauguration of the Taj mahotsav at the Agra Fort today is being organised after obtaining permission from the ASI and there is no problem in going ahead with it,” the state Tourism Minister, Mr Kokab Hamid told PTI by the phone from Agra.
