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SC orders closure of 53 coal-based iron foundries in Agra

In a judgement aimed at saving the Taj Mahal from pollution, the Supreme Court has ordered immediate closure of 53 iron foundries in Agra city that have not switched over to gas or shifted out.

''The district magistrate and the superintendent of police, Agra, shall take action accordingly,'' a division bench of the court said.

Of the 168 iron foundries in Agra that houses the 17th century mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, 53 of them have not agreed to use gas as fuel.

The direction was issued on an interlocutory application filed by the Gas Authority of India Limited after the order of the apex court on December 30, 1996, directing closure or shifting of the foundries unless they switched over to gas as a medium of fuel.

UNI

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