HC allows 'unlicensed' guides to work in Taj

Vijay Upadhyay
Agra. The UP High Court has totally redefined the definition of tourist guides at the Agra monuments, giving a relief to the guides who had been working without a license from the Archaeological Survey of India.

The High Court has ruled that a person could not be stopped from working as a guide inside the monuments just because he had not obtained a 'license' from the government.
However, the court has also ruled that the so called 'unlicensed' guides would have to buy the usual entry tickets before they could function as guides inside the monument.

In an order passed by the court of Justice Yatindra Singh and Justice Ran Vijai Singh on a writ petition, the court has directed the Union Ministry of Tourism, Central Industrial Security Force, Archaeological Survey of India and the Senior Superintendent of Police that until further orders of the court the petitioners (unlicensed guides) would not be stopped from working as tourist guides on the ground that they do not have a license in terms of the Rule 8.

However, the petitioners will have to buy tickets like any other visitor for entering into the premises of the monuments. It will be open to the petitioners to work as guides and charge money from the tourists.

The court's decision comes as a welcome relief to thousands of unlicensed guides who had earlier obtained a stay order from the High Court against being displaced from the monuments by the ASI for not having a license.

Reacting to the court decision, Dr D Dayalan, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Agra, said that the ASI had already moved the Supreme Court against this decision as it was highly illogical to allow anyone and everyone to conduct guided tours of the monument without having the faintest knowledge of Mughal history.

He said that he had personally observed scores of unauthorised guides giving absolutely incorrect information to the tourists on the history of the Taj Mahal and observed that such people should not be allowed to mislead the tourists in the name of guides.

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