IMPORTANT POINT
The emissions generated by the coke/coal consuming industries being air-pollutants having damaging effect on the Taj and the people living in the Taj Trapezium, the 292 listed industries shall change-over to the natural gas as an industrial-fuel and the industries which are not in a position to obtain gas connections shall stop functioning with the aid of coke/coal in the TTZ and may relocate themselves as per the directions given by the Supreme Court.

JUDGMENT

Kuldip Singh, J.-Taj Mahal-The Taj-is the "King Emperor" amongst the World-Wonders. The Taj is the final achievement and acme of the Moghul Art. It represents the most refined aesthetic values. It is a fantasy - like grandeur. It is the perfect culmination and artistic interplay of the architects skill and the jewellers inspiration. The marble-in-lay walls of The Taj are amongst the most outstanding examples of decorative workmanship. The elegant symmetry of its exterior and the aerial grace of its domes and minarets impress the beholder in a manner never to be forgotten. It stands out as one of the most priceless national monument, of surpassing beauty and worth, a glorious tribute to man s achievement in Architecture and Engineering.

Lord Roberts in his work "Forty one years in India" describes The Taj as under :-

"Neither words nor pencil could give to the most imaginative reader the slightest idea of all the satisfying beauty and purity of this glorious conception. To those who have not seen it, I would say, - Go to India; the Taj alone is well worth the journey."

A poet describes The Taj as under :-

"It is too pure, too holy to be the work of human hands. Angels must have brought it from heaven and a glass case should be thrown over it to preserve it from each breath of air."

Sammuel Smith in his Book about The Taj explains the impact as under :

"We stood spell-bound for a few minutes at this lovely apparition; it hardly seems of the earth. It is more like a dream of Celestial beauty, no words can describe it. We felt that all previous sights were damned in comparison, No such effect is produced by the first view of St. Peter s or Milan or Cologne Cathedrals. They are all majestic, but this is enchantment itself. So perfect is its form that all other structures seem clumsy."

2. The Taj is threatened with deterioration and damage not only by the traditional causes of decay, but also by changing social and economic conditions which aggravate the situation with even more formidable phenomena of damage or destruction. A private sector preservation organisation called "World Monuments Fund" (American Express Company) has published a list of 100 most endangered sites (1996) in the World. The Taj has been included in the list by stating as under :

"The Taj Mahal - Agra - India"

The Taj Mahal, Marble Tomb for Mumtaz Mahal, wife of emperor Shah Jahan, is considered the epitom of Mughal monumental domed tombs set in a garden. The environment of Agra is today beset with problems relating to the inadequacy of its urban infrastructure for transportation, water and electricity. The densest pollution near the Taj Mahal is caused by residential fuel combustion, diesel trains and buses, and back-up generators. Construction of the proposed Agra Ring Road and Bypass that would divert the estimated daily 6,50,000 tons of trans-India truck traffic awaits financing. Strick controls on industrial pollution established in 1982 are being intensively enforced following a 1993 Supreme Court Order. The Asian Development Bank s proposed $300 million loan to the Indian government to finance infrastructure improvements would provide the opportunity to solve the chronic problems. Agra contains three World Heritage Sites, including the Taj Mahal."

According to the petitioner, the foundries, chemical/hazardous industries and the refinery at Mathura are the major sources of damage to The Taj. The sulphurdioxide emitted by the Mathura Refinery and the industries when combined with Oxygen-with the aid of moisture-in the atmosphere forms sulphuric acid called "Acid rain" which has a corroding effect on the gleaming white marble. Industrial/Refinery emissions, brick-kilns, vehicular traffic and generator-sets are primarily responsible for polluting the ambient air around Taj Trapezium (TTZ). The petition states that the white marble has yellowed and blackened in places. It is inside The Taj that the decay is more apparent.