In the crowded lanes near Noori Gate, the aroma of boiling syrup and ash gourd fills the air. Inside a small workshop, 55-year-old Girish Kumar Singhal works with steady hands, scooping through raw pulp to prepare petha. His two sons sit alongside him, continuing a craft that has been passed down for generations, as reported by TOI.
But Singhal is anxious. The Supreme Court has ordered that all petha units operating within the Taj Trapezium Zone, an area of 10,400 square kilometres that includes the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, must move out.
Supreme Court sets timeline
On 3 April, a bench led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan asked the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a relocation plan within three months. The matter was last heard on 30 July with no decision issued. It is listed again for 23 September, when the court is expected to deliver orders.
“If we are forced to move out, we won’t survive. We don’t have the means to buy new land, build a factory, and restart all over again,” said Singhal in the TOI report.
The scale of the trade
Singhal’s fears are shared across the city. Nearly 5,000 people work in the petha trade. Each day, about 1,000 quintals of the sweet are produced in more than 25 varieties. Around Noori Gate alone, unofficial figures suggest there are over 500 units. Officials estimate the trade generates about Rs 500 crore in turnover.
The roots of this industry stretch far back. Petha, legend has it, first emerged in the Mughal kitchens. Shah Jahan’s court is believed to have handed it out to labourers building the Taj Mahal, a sugary boost during hard labour. Over the centuries, the sweet became inseparable from Agra’s identity.
Battles over pollution
The current directive is the latest in a long series of tussles between petha makers and environmental rules. In 1996, the Supreme Court banned coal use in TTZ industries. A state ban on coal-laden trucks entering Agra followed in 2013. Enforcement was uneven, but in 2022 authorities sealed 11 units still using coal.
By now, most producers have switched to gas supplied by GAIL or commercial LPG. Even so, the shadow of relocation has not lifted.
Relocation plans falter
The government has attempted solutions before. In 1998, the Agra Development Authority set aside 151 plots at Kalindi Vihar to create a “Petha Nagri.” Only 94 plots were allotted, and fewer were ever occupied.
“There’s no clean water there, no waste management system, no infrastructure,” Rajesh Agarwal, president of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Petha Kutir Association told TOI. “And anyway, Kalindi Vihar is still within TTZ limits. So what purpose does relocation serve?”
In 2015, manufacturers suggested Sikandra, 15 kilometres from the Taj, as a better alternative since it offered easier access to raw materials and transport. That proposal was never taken forward.
Meanwhile, some units have moved quietly to places like Kosi in Mathura or Sasni in Aligarh. But, as Agarwal notes, “those places can’t absorb everyone.”
For the families that have been making petha for generations, the uncertainty is exhausting. Their craft has survived changing times and shifting policies. Now, as the Supreme Court prepares to give its order later this month, thousands wait to know if Agra’s iconic sweet can continue to be made in the city it belongs to.
(With inputs from TOI)
But Singhal is anxious. The Supreme Court has ordered that all petha units operating within the Taj Trapezium Zone, an area of 10,400 square kilometres that includes the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, must move out.
Supreme Court sets timeline
On 3 April, a bench led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan asked the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a relocation plan within three months. The matter was last heard on 30 July with no decision issued. It is listed again for 23 September, when the court is expected to deliver orders.
“If we are forced to move out, we won’t survive. We don’t have the means to buy new land, build a factory, and restart all over again,” said Singhal in the TOI report.
The scale of the trade
Singhal’s fears are shared across the city. Nearly 5,000 people work in the petha trade. Each day, about 1,000 quintals of the sweet are produced in more than 25 varieties. Around Noori Gate alone, unofficial figures suggest there are over 500 units. Officials estimate the trade generates about Rs 500 crore in turnover.
The roots of this industry stretch far back. Petha, legend has it, first emerged in the Mughal kitchens. Shah Jahan’s court is believed to have handed it out to labourers building the Taj Mahal, a sugary boost during hard labour. Over the centuries, the sweet became inseparable from Agra’s identity.
Battles over pollution
The current directive is the latest in a long series of tussles between petha makers and environmental rules. In 1996, the Supreme Court banned coal use in TTZ industries. A state ban on coal-laden trucks entering Agra followed in 2013. Enforcement was uneven, but in 2022 authorities sealed 11 units still using coal.
By now, most producers have switched to gas supplied by GAIL or commercial LPG. Even so, the shadow of relocation has not lifted.
Relocation plans falter
The government has attempted solutions before. In 1998, the Agra Development Authority set aside 151 plots at Kalindi Vihar to create a “Petha Nagri.” Only 94 plots were allotted, and fewer were ever occupied.
“There’s no clean water there, no waste management system, no infrastructure,” Rajesh Agarwal, president of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Petha Kutir Association told TOI. “And anyway, Kalindi Vihar is still within TTZ limits. So what purpose does relocation serve?”
In 2015, manufacturers suggested Sikandra, 15 kilometres from the Taj, as a better alternative since it offered easier access to raw materials and transport. That proposal was never taken forward.
Meanwhile, some units have moved quietly to places like Kosi in Mathura or Sasni in Aligarh. But, as Agarwal notes, “those places can’t absorb everyone.”
For the families that have been making petha for generations, the uncertainty is exhausting. Their craft has survived changing times and shifting policies. Now, as the Supreme Court prepares to give its order later this month, thousands wait to know if Agra’s iconic sweet can continue to be made in the city it belongs to.
(With inputs from TOI)
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