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NEW DELHI, July 24: The entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region closed, the Uttar Pradesh Government suggested in its first draft report of a vision document on protec- tion and preservation of the 17th century monument filed in the Supreme Court today. The Uttar Pradesh Government mentioned the mat- ter before a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta. The vision document was submitted after an angry apex court on July 11 lashed out the state government for its apathy towards the Mughal era monu- ment, considered one of the seven wonders of the world and a major tourist draw. Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the state govern- ment, told the bench that they be allowed to file the document. The court allowed the coun- sel to file the draft. The Uttar Pradesh govern- ment told the apex court that the entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and the use of bottled water inside should also be prohibited. The State Government said all polluting industries in region should be closed, while more tourism hubs should be created. It said a comprehensive traf- fic management plan was need- ed to promote pedestrian move- ment in the Taj heritage precinct. The draft vision document also said roads along the Yamuna riverfront should be planned so traffic is limited and pedestrian movement encour- aged. According to the Government, there should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural planta- tions. The Apex Court has been monitoring development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal at Agra in 1643. The ivory white marble mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During the hearing earlier this month, the bench had drawn a parallel between the Taj Mahal and Paris' Eiffel Tower, saying the mausoleum was perhaps more beautiful, but India contin- ued to lose tourists and foreign exchange due to the situation prevailing there. The Centre told the apex court that the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, was con- ducting an assessment of air pol- lution level in and around the mausoleum and Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and they would give their report within four months. TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. The court had also asked why only four ambient air qual- ity monitoring stations were set up at Agra against the 22 required.(PTI) Taj Mahal area should be no-plastic zone, UP tells SC in draft vision document Benami properties worth Rs 4,300 cr attached: Govt NEW DELHI, July 24: The Income Tax Department has attached benami properties worth Rs 4,300 crore till June 30, the Government said today. Minister of State for Finance, Shiv Pratap Shukla said the Government has taken various steps to identify benami properties and the I-T Department has set up 24 dedicated Benami Prohibition Units across India. “As on June 30, 2018, provisional attachments have been made in more than 1,600 benami transactions involving benami proper- ties valued at over Rs 4,300 crore,” Shukla said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, seeks to prohibit the benami transaction irrespective of the method by which such property, both movable and immovable, is acquired. In another reply, Shukla said tax collections from foreign com- panies have gone up to Rs 27,561 crore in Assessment Year (AY) 2017-18, from Rs 24,541 crore a year ago. He said as per provisions of the I-T Act, a foreign company is liable to tax all income, whether received or deemed to be received, from any source in India. “However, the taxation of a foreign company under the Act is subject to the provisions of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, if any, between India and the country of which the for- eign company is resident,” Shukla said.(PTI) NEW DELHI, July 24: The Government will enact a law, if necessary, to curb the inci- dents of lynching, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today amid Opposition outcry over the grow- ing number of such cases. Singh also said the Government has taken the issue seriously and would look at tak- ing stringent action against the culprits, as the ruling coalition faced a scathing attack from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties in the Lok Sabha over the rising cases of lynching. Opposition members created a din during the Zero Hour and many of them rushed to the Well, as a visibily peeved Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed some of the leaders to raise the issue after papers were laid. Responding to the concerns expressed by the members, Singh said the government would enact a law, if necessary, to curb the incidents of lynching. On Monday, the Home Ministry announced setting up of two high-level committees to sug- gest ways and a legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching. The committees were set up a week after the Supreme Court asked the central government to enact a law to deal with inci- dents of lynching and take action on mob violence. Singh also said that lynching incidents have been happening for years and mentioned that the biggest lynchings happened in 1984 — a remark that elicited strong protests from the Congress members. In the latest incident, a 28- year-old man was lynched on sus- picion of being a cow smuggler in Lalawandi village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Saturday last. As soon as the Zero Hour began, Opposition members, led by the Congress and the TMC, sought to raise certain issues and expressed unhappiness over not being given an opportunity. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was heard saying it was “not a BJP house but the Lok Sabha.” Kharge along with some party members as well as those from the Trinamool Congress, the TDP and the RJD trooped into the Well. After a few minutes, they went back to their seats. Kharge demanded that a sit- ting Supreme Court judge should carry out an enquiry into the lynching incidents and take action based on the report. As he mentioned the lynching incident at Alwar, the Speaker said some of his remarks about it would not go on record. Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said mob lynchings were creating an alarming situation in different parts of the country. Observing that it is a heinous crime, he demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits. “The government should not keep mum... The government should take initiatives (to stop it),” he said. Expressing expressed concern over so many incidents of lynch- ing, Deputy Speaker and AIADMK leader M Thambidurai urged the Centre to come forward and stop such incidents. There is a need to study the root cause of such incidents and asserted that the first priority should be “law and order”, he said. “Why is this (lynchings) happening? What is intelligence doing?... What is the role of the Centre,” he asked. CPI(M) member Mohammed Salim said a lot of hatred was being spread in the country through such incidents, as he took a swipe at the government by cit- ing various instances, including the recent attack on Swami Agnivesh in Jharkhand. Earlier when the listed papers were laid, Mahajan dis- approved the protests by the agi- tating members before she allowed some of them to speak.(PTI) WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2018 (PAGE 16) DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU JAMMU MOST TRUSTED MARRIAGE BUREAU ASHIRWAD VIVAH ALL KINDS OF CASTE BRAHMIN, MAHAJAN, KHATRI, RAJPUT, SIKH, KASHMIRI PANDIT, JAT, RAM DASIA DIV OR CEE & WIDOW ALSO A V AILABLE ADDRESS-PLOT NO. 477, SECTOR-3 CHANNI HIMMAT, JAMMU MOBILE: 7889635161 Congratulations to JENAB TARIQ HAMEED KARRA on being appointed as CWC member (Congress Working Committee) FROM:- JATINDER KUMAR SHARMA (SARPANCH), Talla-Tanda Ph: 8803720467 Tariq Hameed Karra CONGRATULATIOS Jatinder Kumar OFFICE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SHRI MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD, KATRA It is for the information of pub- lic in general that “Guru Purnima” is being celebrated at Chatanaya Asharam, Talab Tillo, Bohri Jammu on 27th July 2018. HAWAN will start at 10:00 AM to be concluded and Pooran Ahuti at 12:30 PM. No. Co/Adm/508/1102 Sd/- Dated : 24-07-2018 Dy. Chief Executive Officer Swami Chaitanaya Visudha Brahmchari Ji Govt to enact law, if necessary, to curb lynchings: Rajnath
