New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a comprehensive plan to protect the Taj Mahal from damage for another 400 years, as it refused to accept the "ad hoc" report submitted by the state for the preservation of the monument.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta also told additional solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, that the government could not dream of a "new India" or its vision for 2022 if the officials failed to act decisively by involving various stakeholders in taking measures for protecting the Taj.

"Don't be in a hurry. You are looking for something that has to last for about 400 years.... Earlier, we had plans for five years with an objective and goals to achieve. But we just can't be in a hurry," Justice Lokur told Mehta.

"We have to look at it in a pragmatic way. We need to have a larger look at the picture. You can't have a new India with your hands in the pockets. You have to act keeping these things in mind," Justice Lokur added.

The bench made the observation after expressing dissatisfaction with an interim plan evolved by the state government for protecting the Taj Mahal. The state had cited a number of measures it had initiated, including checking the number of vehicles plying in and around the Taj Trapezium Zone, a protected area where construction is not allowed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP often refer to a "new India" and "Vision 2022".

Of late, several BJP leaders have questioned the relevance of the Taj on the ground that it was constructed by the Mughals. The BJP-run Uttar Pradesh government has dropped the Taj Mahal from a tourism booklet.

The court made the observations while dealing with a PIL filed by environmentalist M.C. Mehta, who had challenged the construction of a multi-level parking lot within a 1km radius of the Taj.

The Supreme Court had earlier stayed the construction of the parking lot on the ground that it posed an environmental danger to the Taj.

When Mehta tried to explain the measures initiated by the Uttar Pradesh government by involving the School of Planning and Architecture to prepare the plan, Justice Mehta said such an exercise should involve various stakeholders, including experts in the field of culture, history and archaeology.

"How can you keep the people of the country out? This can't be a closed-door affair. This monument has to be protected, not just for one generation but for 300 to 400 years to come," the court observed.

The court said the state must consult experts.

"There is no shortage of them. There is no hurry. No need for a bureaucratic response. We have seen what it means from time to time," the court said.