Taj protection: SC slams TTZ, asks what 'tamasha' is going on

The Supreme Court today deplored the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) authority on environment protection in and around the Taj Mahal asking it whether preservation of the iconic monument was a "tamasha" (drama) or a "joke".

Terming the TTZ authority as "flop", a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the body has done nothing and "we would not have this problem if TTZ would have done its work".

TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

When the court was told that TTZ authority has problem of infrastructure and was under-staffed, the bench shot back, "Is it our fault? What is this 'tamasha' going on. It is nothing less than a 'tamasha'. They (TTZ) are saying they do not have staffs. Will the Supreme Court recruit staff for them?"