Context- The Supreme Court Wednesday permitted Northern Railways to axe over 400 trees in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) for construction of an additional rail track between Delhi and Agra if mandatory compensatory afforestation is undertaken

• It decided to monitor the afforestation to be undertaken by the Railways and directed the member secretary of the National Legal Service Authority Of India (NALSA) to appoint a person to visit the tree plantation sites regularly and file a report before it.

Taz Trapezium zone

• 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 the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan
• The top court has been monitoring developments in the area to protect the monument, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631. The mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• By the order of Ministry of Environment and Forests in exercise of the powers conferred by the the Environemnt Protection Act, 1986 and in supersession of the order of the government of India in the ministry of Envionment and forests, number S.O. 350(E), dated 17th May, 1999, except as thins done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the central Goverment hereby re-constitutes the Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution(Prevention and Control) authority