THE Government has ordered the closure of more than 100 factories around the Taj Mahal in Agra for polluting the environment and endangering the white marble of one of the world's seven wonders.
Environment Minister Rajesh Pilot has given 104 industrial units until the end of the month to shut down or move elsewhere.
Another 400-odd industrial units, however, have escaped closure as they have already installed devices to check pollution after an order from the Supreme Court last year.
The court was responding to a petition filed by an environmental activist seeking to protect the 18th-century monument.
Mr Pilot has also asked the state authorities to institute a call to monitor pollution levels in Agra, around 208 kilometres east of New Delhi, and build a ring road around the city to defuse vehicular emissions.
Within Agra every vehicle will have to obtain a pollution check certificate, while six million rupees (HK$1.5 million) have been given to the city to start a battery-operated bus service in a two-mile radius around the Taj.
