By IANS,
Lucknow : Contrary to reports, the Uttar Pradesh government has no plan to build any kind of corridor behind the 17th century Taj Mahal, a top state official said here Wednesday.
State housing principal secretary Harminder Raj Singh flatly denied reports appearing in a section of the media about the Mayawati government’s plans to erect a foot overbridge or a ropeway over the Yamuna river, just next to the heritage monument.
“There was no question of building anything in or around the Taj Mahal without the concurrence of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as well as a formal nod by the Supreme Court of India,” Singh pointed out.
Agra Development Authority vice chairman Tanveer Zafar Ali has also refuted reports attributed to him.
Contradicting a report appearing in a leading national daily on the issue, Ali said: “It was a total figment of imagination of the paper to assume that the Agra Development Authority was ready with a blue print of the plan.
“There was only some loud thinking on a suggestion to build a foot overbridge across the Yamuna river to connect the Mehtab Bagh (across the river bank) with Agra Fort to facilitate tourist movement from one monument to the other.
“Another company had suggested the construction of a ropeway, but that too was suggested almost a kilometre away from the Taj and under no circumstances could it be even initiated without an express permission of both the ASI and the apex court.”