The court was hearing a plea filed by the UP tourism department seeking its permission to cut 15 trees for constructing the lot. The counsel for the state government was not present and the court passed the order for demolition.The government is proposing to construct a Taj Orientation Centre in the premises to create facilities for tourists with a parking lot in the basement. "It is respectfully submitted that without cutting 15 trees, the construction of Taj Orientation Centre is not possible. These 15 trees need to be felled on urgent basis so that the construction of the said project can be continued and completed. The TTZ comprises over 40 protected monuments including three World Heritage Sites — Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri besides the Taj.

Source: Times of India October 24, 2017 23:22 UTC