Agencies act to protect monuments from pollution
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Local government authorities have been spurred into action by the threat structural degradation facing India’s prized monuments like the Taj Mahal as a result of rising pollution levels. One pressing concern is over the drying out and pollution of the Yamuna River which is destabilising the foundations of the Taj Mahal.
The Uttar Pradesh government agencies and the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) authority have started to review projects set up to restore and protect monuments from environmental threats after they were stalled by litigation or resource shortages. A total of eight pollution control schemes have been submitted for clearance from the state government before being presented to the Planning Commission to include them in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) as government agencies look to speed up work on the pending projects. Many of the measures have already been approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) which released its annual report recently. These projects have been held up since 2003 for want of funds. The whole eco-sensitive zone needs them urgently. Now that the NEERI has given its report, one hopes these projects would receive top priority treatment,’ B.B. Awasthi, regional officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, told IANS.
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