Politics of indecision threatens Taj Mahal

Agra, Jan 1: It has been an agonisingly long wait for the promised barrage on the Yamuna river downstream of the Taj Mahal which is threatened by both air and water pollution.

While disposing of the PIL filed by M.C. Mehta, the Supreme Court had on December 30, 1996, directed the Uttar Pradesh government to construct the barrage on the Yamuna.

But 27 years have passed, the state government is still dragging its feet on this urgent project, considered necessary to protect heritage structures along the river's banks.

The city has seen many agitations, protests and marches to highlight the pathetic condition of the dry and polluted Yamuna, but the response from the Central and the state governments has been cold, say green activists of the River Connect Campaign.

The local MPs and the MLAs too have not shown the desired amount of interest and involvement, says Padmini Iyer, a river activist.

Officials in the district administration say that the location of the barrage has been identified at Nangla Prema, a few kilometres downstream of the Taj Mahal. The required NOCs have been acquired. Only the Taj Trapezium Zone Authority has to now clear the project.

Sources said the authority was interested in a rubber check dam, and not a barrage.

Interestingly, the foundation for the barrage have been laid thrice at three different places by two Chief Ministers and one Governor, but the project for some mysterious reasons has got stuck up for want of political will.

Environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya said the state irrigation department responding to his RTI query, has informed that NOCs from three different departments had been received, only one permission was hanging fire.

From 2018 to 2023 the irrigation department received Rs 182 crore, out of which Rs 176 crore had been returned, as the barrage project made no headway.

The department has now come up with a fresh proposal for a Rs 350 crore Rubber Check dam, downstream of the Taj Mahal, at Nagla Prema.

The Yamuna barrage project was mooted first in 1993, after a series of directions by the Supreme Court, in the PIL filed by M.C. Mehta.

The Apex court had stated that alongwith the cleaning of the river, a barrage should be constructed to bring down the air pollution level in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal.

While the local politicians kept pulling in different directions, giving rise to controversies, the beneficiary was Mathura which got the Gokul barrage in 1997.

Over years, the Yamuna dries up after the monsoon rains, and degenerates into a vast sewage canal. Garbage dumps, shallow pools of polluted water become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and bacteria. The white marble surface of the Taj gets dotted with colonies of mosquitoes and their excreta.

Lok Swar President Rajiv Gupta wonders why successive state governments have been dragging their feet on executing such a vital project.

The river remains dry, polluted and sick with toxic waste, says Eco Club president Pradip Khandelwal.

Whether Yogi Adityanath will speed up the barrage project before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, remains to be seen.