UP moves Supreme Court seeking stay on demolition order of parking site near Taj

NEW DELHI: A day after the Supreme Court ordered demolition of a multi-layer parking being constructed in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday moved the apex court seeking a stay on the order.

UP's additional advocate general Aishwarya Bhati pleaded before a bench, headed by Justice J Chelameswar, that the state counsel could not argue the case on Tuesday as the court room was overcrowded and he could not reach at the front to put forward government's stand.

She contended that all required approvals were taken before initiating the construction, and the court should re-examine its order.

Agreeing to hear her plea, the bench posted the case to Friday for hearing.

The SC order came two days before Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath's visit to the historic monument.

The state government had decided to construct the parking lot to lessen traffic snarls caused by inadequate space. The construction was under way for basement parking lots with two levels of parking near the monument's east gate. The CM is expected to visit the monument on October 26.

Alleging that the ongoing construction was illegal and could have an adverse environmental impact, advocate and environmentalist M C Mehta urged the court to restrain the government from building the parking lot, located just a kilometer away from the Taj. He said no prior approval was taken by the state government from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Supreme Court before construction was initiated.

Accepting Mehta's plea, a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta ordered demolition within four weeks. The court was hearing a plea filed by the UP tourism department seeking its permission to cut 15 trees for constructing the lot. The counsel for the state government was not present and the court passed the order for demolition.

The government is proposing to construct a Taj Orientation Centre in the premises to create facilities for tourists with a parking lot in the basement. The total cost of the project is around Rs 231 crore.

"It is respectfully submitted that without cutting 15 trees, the construction of Taj Orientation Centre is not possible. These 15 trees need to be felled on urgent basis so that the construction of the said project can be continued and completed. Facilities and amenities are required to the said area considering the massive traffic and congestion in the area of Taj," the state government said in its application.