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Either we shut it down or you restore or demolish Taj Mahal: Supreme Court to Centre

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Either we shut it down or you restore or demolish Taj Mahal: Supreme Court to Centre

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 11 slammed the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to take steps for protecting the Taj Mahal.

Observing that the issue of preserving the Taj was a “hopeless cause”, the apex court expressed anguish at the Yogi Adityanath-led government’s failure to produce a vision document to protect the iconic heritage site and warned it will “shut it down” and the authorities should “demolish or restore” the Mughal structure.

The bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak said it was “sheer lethargy” on the part of the authorities. “There is absolutely no willingness to protect the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal has to be protected. Either we will shut it down or you demolish or restore it,” the bench observed.

The court said the Taj Mahal is much more beautiful than the Eiffel Tower and could have solved the country’s foreign exchange problem. “Eighty million go to watch Eiffel Tower which looks like a TV Tower. Our Taj is more beautiful. If you had looked after it your foreign exchange problem would have been solved. Do you realise the loss caused to the country due to your apathy?” observed the bench.

The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier told the bench that it would place before the court a draft of vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal.

The court asked how is it that foundries and other polluting industries are still being allowed to function within this delicate environmental zone which was created to protect the Taj Mahal.

The court also sought personal appearance of the chairman of Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) – a 10,400 sq km area spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan – to explain violation of its orders prohibiting expansion of industrial units in the zone.

The Uttar Pradesh government had said it was also trying to take care of the environment around the structure so that the historic monument could be there for another 400 years and not just for a generation.

The SC was hearing a petition that called for proper maintenance of the Taj Mahal, which attracts thousands of tourists from around the world every year. A bench of Justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta said no concrete steps have been taken by the state government, despite a parliamentary standing committee report on Taj’s protection. The bench asked the Centre to furnish details of what has been done and what is required to protect the monument.

The Centre, in its response, told the court that researchers from IIT Kanpur are assessing the source of pollution in and around the Taj, and will submit its reports in four months. It added that a special committee has been set up for the cause.

Earlier this year, the SC had blamed the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) for its failure to take appropriate steps to protect the monument. It had also observed that Taj Mahal’s white marble turned yellow due to the pollution.

Saying it would hear the case next on July 31 on a day-to-day basis, the bench told the Centre to furnish full details of the steps taken and action it intends to take for protecting the Taj Mahal.

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ED raids Punjab Congress leaders Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Sangat Singh Giljian in forest scam linked money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate asserted that during the search operations, various incriminating documents, mobile phones/digital devices have been seized

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The Enforcement Directorate recently conducted raids against two former Punjab forest ministers and Congress leaders Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sangat Singh Giljian and others in relation to an alleged forest-scam linked money laundering investigation.  

Issuing a statement on Friday, the Enforcement Directorate said that its investigation pertains to charges of bribery in the state forest department against the issuance of a permit for tree felling and for transfer and posting in the department, among some other allegations. 

The ED raids were carried out on November 30 in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi at the residential premises of Dharamsot, Giljian, their associates, forest officers and some private individuals. The agency reportedly searched fourteen locations under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, has been a five-time MLA and he was arrested earlier this year by the Punjab Vigilance bureau as part of a case linked to alleged possession of disproportionate assets. In his three-year tenure as forest minister, Dharamsot collected ₹1 crore in lieu of issuance of permits for cutting khair trees through his OSD. Sangat Singh Giljian has been an MLA from the Urmar seat in Hoshiarpur district.

The Enforcement Directorate said that the money laundering case was filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and stems from an FIR of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.

The nodal agency mentioned that the first information report pertains to alleged irregularities in the forest department and allegations of taking bribes by the concerned ministers and officers of the department against the issuance of permits for felling of Khair trees, transfer/posting in the department, issuance of NOC from the department and purchase of tree guards.

In addition, the Enforcement Directorate asserted that during the search operations, various incriminating documents, mobile phones/digital devices have been seized which, prima facie, reveal suspicious transactions involving persons who are under investigation. 

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Jharkhand government puts hospitals on alert amid respiratory infection outbreak in China

The district administration are also asked to assess the availability of oxygen and the supply chain for refilling along with other necessary equipment.

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Amid a respiratory infection outbreak in China, the Jharkhand government has put its hospitals on alert, directing them for surveillance, preventive measures and testing of respiratory illness. The additional chief secretary of health Arun Kumar Singh directed the district administrations to remain prepared and keep a continuous vigil on the situation.  

In a letter to the district magistrate, Arun Kumar Singh stated that in view of the recently reported surge in respiratory illness, particularly in children in Northern China, in the recent weeks, there is an urgent need to keep a constant vigil, monitor trends of cases and quickly respond to any emerging public health. He added that considering the ongoing influenza, there might be an increase in respiratory illness cases.

He mentioned that this is predominantly attributed to usual causes like Influenza strain (H1N1/H3N2/H5N1/H9N2 etc.), mycoplasma pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, etc. He further remarked that in order to reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases along with the current scenario of unusual causes of respiratory diseases in children or any unexpected clinical manifestations, there is a need to increase the surveillance and remain vigilant and to monitor the continuously changing nature of the virus, including respiratory pathogen (H1N1, H3N2 etc) and evolution of SARS CoV-2 variants.

The additional chief secretary of health further directed the officials to strengthen the flu and respiratory clinics in the medical colleges, district hospitals, and health centres. He asserted that the departments of microbiology at RIMS-Ranchi and Mahatma Gandhi Medical College in Jamshedpur have been made sentinel sites for sending the suspected samples.    

Reportedly, the district administrations have also been asked to ascertain that the health facilities, including private hospitals, report all suspected cases. In addition, they were also asked to assess the availability of oxygen and the supply chain for refilling along with other necessary equipment. The district administrations were also asked to ensure mock drills for emergency circumstances, as per the officials.

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Tensions rise at Sagar Dam as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana clash over drinking water

On Thursday when Telangana officials were busy with elections, about 700 Andhra Pradesh Policemen stormed into the project and opened the right canal to release 500 cusecs of Krishna water per hour.

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As Telangana was getting ready for election, Andhra Pradesh took control of Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and began releasing water, leading tensions to rise between the two states. On Thursday when Telangana officials were busy with elections, about 700 Andhra Pradesh Policemen stormed into the project and opened the right canal to release 500 cusecs of Krishna water per hour.

Andhra Pradesh state irrigation minister Ambati Rambabu took to X(formerly Twitter) and wrote they are releasing water from Nagarjunasagar right canal on Krishna river for the drinking water purposes. But the minister made a clarification that they had only taken water that they have only taken water that belongs to the state and it is in accordance to the treaty between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Talking to the media Rambabu said they had not flouted any treaty. He said 66% of Krishna water belongs to Andhra Pradesh and 34% to Telangana. He said they had not used a single drop of water that did not belong to them. He said they had tried to open their canal in their territory. He further added this water was rightfully theirs.

As tensions started rising, the central government has stepped in and urged both states to revert to the release of Nagarjuna Sagar waters as of November 28. The proposal was made by the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla during a video conference with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Both the states have agreed to the plan.

In order to ensure no further conflict takes place, the dam will be under the supervision of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which will also oversee that both the states are getting water as per the deal. Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari had alleged that 500 armed Andhra Pradesh policemen came to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and released about cusecs of water by opening the head regulators located at gate number 5 and 7. They even damaged the CCTV cameras.

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