On Friday, the Supreme Court declined a request to designate Agra city in Uttar Pradesh as a World Heritage Site.

A Bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih showed clear displeasure towards the request made.

"How can a city be declared as a World Heritage Site? You must show, where is provision for World Heritage City declaration? What is the advantages of declaring city as World Heritage City? Will city become more clean after it is being declared World Heritage City? You have shown us nothing as to how it will help the city. We cannot do anything in this!" Justice Oka remarked.

The Bench was reviewing an application as part of a series of petitions concerning environmental clearances for development activities around the Taj Mahal in Agra. The counsel requested additional time to support the plea for designating Agra as a World Heritage Site, but the Supreme Court rejected the application.

World Heritage Sites are landmarks or areas designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) due to their cultural, historical, or scientific significance.