Supreme Court slamms the ASI for not being able to protect Taj Mahal

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for not being able to protect the iconic Taj Mahal, and asked about the steps being taken to prevent the Mughal structure from being destroyed by insects and algae.

A bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta was concerned after the ASI told it that the Taj Mahal was getting infected by insects which breed in the stagnant water of the Yamuna river that flows by the monument.

The ASI, which is in-charge of maintaining and repairing monuments, also told the bench that algae are a “big problem” and all those monuments which are on the river bank faces similar issues.

The bench asked how could the algae reach the higher reaches of the Taj Mahal. The ASI replied: “It flew there.”

Can algae fly,” asked the court.The ASI also told the



court that the Taj Mahal floor at several places was dirty, because all the people walking on it do not use socks.

“We provide socks only to the VIPs, others use their own socks,” it told the court. The Taj floor was also getting discoloured. The bench pulled up the ASI saying the situation would not have been so if it had taken steps to prevent it.

“The problem is that the ASI is not willing to accept that there is a problem. This situation would not have arisen if the ASI had done its job. We are surprised with the way the ASI is defending itself,” the top court said.

“Perhaps we need to examine solution to prevent the decay of the Taj Mahal without the ASI,” the bench said.The court has been hearing a plea filed by environmentalist MC Mehta seeking protection of the Taj from the ill-effects of polluting gases and deforestation in and around the area.