Government needs to restore or demolish Taj Mahal, India’s Supreme Court says

It might be smart to plan that visit to the Taj Mahal sooner rather than later.

India’s Supreme Court has ruled that the country’s government needs to restore the famous building, or else they could shut down or demolish it, according to The Art Newspaper.

The two-judge committee said in May that the monument, made of white marble, is turning yellow and brown in spots because of insect dung and pollution. They advocated recruiting foreign experts to help deal with the color changes.

However, the judges told India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests that the state government still has not produced any plan for improving the landmark.

Atmaram Nadkarni, the solicitor general acting on the environment ministry’s behalf, has said that a committee will determine the source of pollution, but the analysis will take about four months to finish. On July 31, the Supreme Court plans to start monitoring the situation daily. [The Art Newspaper] – Eddie Small