A standing committee on petroleum and natural gas has written to the PMO requesting that the supply of subsidized natural gas to Firozabad, as part of supply of "green fuel" to TTZ constituents, be stopped. A meeting of the zone authority with the Union ministry of environment and forests is likely to take place on Thursday over this issue.

TTZ is a 10,400 sq km trapezium-shaped area covering five districts of Agra region and comprises over 40 protected monuments including three World Heritage Sites — Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and FatehpurSikri.

A Chennai-based NGO, Galaxy Trust, working for environment protection, has recently written to the Union ministry of environment and forest seeking exclusion of Firozabad from the ambit of TTZ with immediate effect.

JayaramTamilselvan, president of the trust, said, "The NEERI report, which was submitted before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) stated that pollution from Firozabad is not reaching Taj Mahal. The purpose behind the formation of the TTZ was to safeguard Taj Mahal from air pollution. What is purpose of keeping Firozabad in TTZ and provide it subsidized green fuel, which is a national resource."

Member of Parliament from Karnataka Prahlad Joshi, who's also chairman of the standing committee on petroleum and natural gas, had last month written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him that the supply of subsidized natural gas to Firozabad, as part of supply of "green fuel" to TTZ constituents, be stopped.

However, Joshi had a different take on the issue and had said that the subsidization had led to proliferation of glass factories in Firozabad and in turn led to high pollution level in the region.

According to him, the Supreme Court in 1996 had passed an order, stating that there would be no further expansion of industries in TTZ and a fixed amount of natural gas would be provided to them. However, according to the MP, this rule was never followed and an excess amount of gas is being supplied to TTZ, which in turn, continuously encourages new factories to come up, besides old one expanding their capacities. He added, "This has not only increased pollution but also caused huge loss to the exchequer."

"This has resulted in mushrooming of industries in TTZ sensing the cheap availability of natural gas at subsidized rates and causing further damage to the Taj. As a result the purpose of the Supreme Court direction continues to be defeated," the MP wrote.

Joshi requested the PM to intervene in the matter. He also requested him to pass directions to the petroleum ministry to initiate concrete measures and supply natural gas at competitive market price to these glass units in order to stop expansion.

Meanwhile, Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE), an NGO, which has filed a petition in the NGT, seeking closure of 60 glass factories in Firozabad, allegedly operating without permission, has registered its objection over NEERI report.