The Supreme Court (SC), May 1, 2025 made it clear that all applications would have to be made to the court seeking permission to fell trees irrespective of the number of trees to be felled as far as areas located within an aerial distance of 5 kilometers from the Taj …
A throng gasped as a blue crate containing a 2.5-tonne slab of marble regarded as one of the most important works of antiquity, was hoisted by a giant crane from the Acropolis in Greece. This was the first sculpture to legally leave the citadel since Phidias carved the artworks 2,500 …
In 1930, the ruler of the then princely state of Tripura commissioned the British company Martin and Burns to construct a summer resort for him. The Maharaja got his palace nine years later: in the middle of a lake. It was aptly called Neermahal
A combination of Rajput and Mughal architecture, Neermahal was made with lime, stone and multi-coloured ten-tiles in nine years. The palace has 24 rooms. In 1978, the Department of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism took over the monument. Major renovation work was, however, not done before 1995-96. Half of the …
A damning SC verdict led to Mathura Refinery putting in place many green measures IN 1984, a writ petition filed in the I SC by environmental lawyer M.C. I Mehta named Mathura Refinery, a psu located in the Taj zone, along with other small industries and foundries for causing "acid …
THE Taj has been under siege from man-made elements for a long time, and in the last two decades, various prescriptions have been suggested to save it from the ravages of industrial pollution. The latest, though, has flummoxed even our normally sedate historians and conservationists. The Archaeological Survey of India's …
Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's environment minister, has become the target of a campaign from Western Australia's Pilbara region. The Friends of Australian Rock Art is worried about recent vandalism of artwork in the region's Burrup Peninsula. The group has called on residents to demand an enquiry from the minister. The panel …
When the French naturalist, Henri Mouhot rediscovered the sprawling Khmer temple complex in Cambodia's rainforest in 1861, he exclaimed, "Grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome.' I too was awestruck on seeing the Angkor temples early this year and realised that Mouhot was not exaggerating. The layout …
Judgement of the Supreme Court of India on Sethusamudram Project dated 17 July 2007 in the matter of Sethusamudram Corpn. Ltd Vs Rama Gopalan & Others.
Researchers are to carry out the first detailed survey of the Great Wall of China to establish just how long the ancient barricade is, the Chinese news agency Xinhua has reported. Along with checking its dimensions the four-year study, which starts in May, will map the wall's exact route. The …
As the Alborz Dam in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran nears completion, Iranian cultural heritage experts have raised concerns regarding its possible consequences on the historic Lafurak cemetery. Located near Savadkooh in Mazandaran, Lafurak is a cemetery dating back to the Iron Age. Archaeologists fear that the dam would …
vehicles restricted: More than 15-year old vehicles will have to be phased out from the National Capital Region to comply with a new directive of the Supreme Court. green taj: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has drafted a green plan for the half-constructed Taj Heritage Corridor site, a plan …
The December 2004 tsunami, which battered much of the south Indian coast, has helped unearth priceless relics in the ancient port city of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. The killer waves shifted thousands of tonnes of sand to uncover granite sculptures which archaeologists claim, are remnants of a seventh-century civilisation. The …
Former Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister (CM) Mayawati, the state's ex-environment minister, Nasimuddin Siddiqui, and six senior officials have backed themselves into a tight corner in the Rs 175-crore Taj Heritage Corridor project. On September 18, the Supreme Court (SC) directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register first …
plot thickens: The Taj heritage corridor controversy is set to assume monumental proportions. Even as the rise in Yamuna river's level left Taj Mahal on shaky ground, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to go after the senior officials and politicians believed to be involved …
It is a wonder! The amount of mudslinging the Taj Mahal provokes, it is surely impossible for this matchless mound of white marble to remain spotless. This time, the issue is construction behind the Taj and reclaiming a part of the Yamuna riverbed for the project. It has raised a …
The Supreme Court recently issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on the state's plans to construct a commercial corridor between Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The court cited the Krishan Mahajan report, which was commissioned to research the environmental aspects of tourism promotion around the Taj. The report …
