SC dismisses plea seeking to declare Agra 'heritage city'
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to declare Agra a "heritage city" and said there is nothing to show that such a declaration would give the city any special advantage.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the application filed in a 1984 PIL on the protection and preservation of the iconic Taj Mahal and its adjoining areas.
"Nothing has been placed on record to show that there will be any special advantage to the city. Moreover, this court cannot grant any such declaration. Interlocutory application is dismissed," the bench ordered.
During the hearing, the bench asked the counsel what advantage the city would get if it was declared a heritage city and what were the provisions under the law for such a declaration.
The counsel said that Agra needed to be declared a heritage city as it has a history of over 1,000 years and several historic monuments which need to be preserved.
"Declaring Agra a heritage city would give a boost to tourism, help create employment and preserve the area," the counsel added.
Justice Oka observed that there was hardly anything smart in a city that has been declared a "smart city".
"Similarly, how does it help Agra city by declaring it a heritage city? Does Agra become cleaner by the declaration? If it does not help, then it will be an exercise in futility," the bench observed.
Justice Oka said that this court is already looking into the matter of protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal and the maintenance of the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).
The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 square kilometres spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
The apex court has been monitoring development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal.
The construction of the Taj Mahal was completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The ivory-white marble mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
