CBI court to hear Taj Corridor case today

A special CBI Court will hear today the rupees-175-crore Taj Corridor case, in which Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is an accused.

Lucknow, June 5 : A special CBI Court will hear today the rupees-175-crore Taj Corridor case, in which Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is an accused.

Judge Rekha Dixit had deferred the hearing after one of the accused -- former Uttar Pradesh Environment Principal Secretary R K Sharma -- sought time to file a rejoinder on the CBI's intervention application challenging a court order sanctioning prosecution of public servants.

The CBI did not file sanction for prosecution of the six accused in the case.

Even, there was no mention of Governor's sanction as the CBI was directed by the court in February to produce the Governor's sanction for prosecution of Mayawati and five others, including former State Environment Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui, under Secretary Rajendra Prasad and Additional General Manager of NBCC Mahendra Sharma.

The CBI had on May 15 moved an adjournment application seeking time to file the same.

The CBI has been probing the case over the past three years, under direct monitoring of the Supreme Court. In November 2006, it set aside the CBI's status report seeking closure of the case.

The Taj Corridor Project proposed to give a facelift to the areas surrounding Agra's major monuments along the Yamuna. Included in the venture was a blueprint for a swanky shopping mall.

The plan was put forward by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and consultancy firm German Technical Cooperation in 2001. It was part of a series of proposals collectively referred to as the 'Environment Management Plan - Agra'. Under the project, the CPCB had conceptualised a heritage corridor covering five historical monuments, including Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Ram Bagh, Etmad-ud-Daula's tomb and Chini ka Rauza.

All this was in disregard of the guidelines laid down by the Environment Ministry and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The grandiose scheme fell to pieces when it came under media scrutiny in mid-June 2003.

ANI