Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Taj Corridor: Back to Square One
By Brij Khandelwal
Agra: Even as Supreme Court and other government bodies debate the modalities and delay in declaring Agra a heritage city, the fate of Taj corridor which brought down the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, hangs fire, with no one in authority quite clear about what to do with the debris and heaps of dirt that now are the predominant feature of this ill-conceived project.
Archaeological Survey of India was asked by the apex court to give concrete proposals with costs to dismantle the structure. But after the cost estimates were worked out it was considered practical to convert the raised platform along river bank into a green patch leaving wilderness untouched. Months and years have passed but no action has so far been initiated to dismantle the corridor and restore originality to landscape between Agra Fort and Taj Mahal.
“If the ill-conceived structure is not to be dismantled and removed now, the original project itself could have been allowed to continue with required modifications,” says eco-activist Rajan Kishore to Www.mediabharti.com .
Noted Mughal historian Prof. Ram Nath sees a conspiracy in the report submitted to apex court. “Somewhere somehow an effort is being made to justify what Mayawati government had done.”
Having spent tons of money and reams of paper on discussing the feasibility and relevance of the corridor project, the think tank appointed by apex court had done nothing better than maintaining the status quo, feel the locals.
The Krishna Mahajan committee wants the structure left untouched and a new green belt developed on it, because dismantling would create new threats to the Taj Mahal through soil erosion and air pollution, as well as cost the exchequer a whopping Rs.40 crores.
Corridor project which has raised a new structure in the form of a platform on roughly 80 acres of river bed between the Taj and Fort, has drastically reduced the water body speeding up the flow of water which presently is a trickle.
The Supreme Court has asked the ASI how the corridor can be used to advantage without risk to the monuments. ASI in Agra hardly seems equipped to address this problem or offer any practical suggestions, given its past record..
Agra: Even as Supreme Court and other government bodies debate the modalities and delay in declaring Agra a heritage city, the fate of Taj corridor which brought down the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, hangs fire, with no one in authority quite clear about what to do with the debris and heaps of dirt that now are the predominant feature of this ill-conceived project.
Archaeological Survey of India was asked by the apex court to give concrete proposals with costs to dismantle the structure. But after the cost estimates were worked out it was considered practical to convert the raised platform along river bank into a green patch leaving wilderness untouched. Months and years have passed but no action has so far been initiated to dismantle the corridor and restore originality to landscape between Agra Fort and Taj Mahal.
“If the ill-conceived structure is not to be dismantled and removed now, the original project itself could have been allowed to continue with required modifications,” says eco-activist Rajan Kishore to Www.mediabharti.com .
Noted Mughal historian Prof. Ram Nath sees a conspiracy in the report submitted to apex court. “Somewhere somehow an effort is being made to justify what Mayawati government had done.”
Having spent tons of money and reams of paper on discussing the feasibility and relevance of the corridor project, the think tank appointed by apex court had done nothing better than maintaining the status quo, feel the locals.
The Krishna Mahajan committee wants the structure left untouched and a new green belt developed on it, because dismantling would create new threats to the Taj Mahal through soil erosion and air pollution, as well as cost the exchequer a whopping Rs.40 crores.
Corridor project which has raised a new structure in the form of a platform on roughly 80 acres of river bed between the Taj and Fort, has drastically reduced the water body speeding up the flow of water which presently is a trickle.
The Supreme Court has asked the ASI how the corridor can be used to advantage without risk to the monuments. ASI in Agra hardly seems equipped to address this problem or offer any practical suggestions, given its past record..
# posted by mediabhartiwebsolutions @ 5:22 AM 
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