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Shah Jahan the Mughal emperor who got the Taj Mahal built felt that the best view of this mausoleum was from the Mehtab Bagh. The grassy crescent shaped land expanse is situated along the Bank of the river Yamuna. The Mehtab Bagh was laid in the 17 th century and ever since this garden has only enhanced in beauty. The garden is spread across an area of 25 acres. The garden has several white plaster pathways. There are also pavilions, pools and fountains all around the garden. With the roll of the centuries the garden was almost effaced due to floods and urbanization. But the excavation work that began in 1994 brought back the Mehtab Bagh to light. Now the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is attempting to reinstate the Mehtab Bagh to its horticultural grandeur. This is exactly what Shah Jahan had envisioned. The Mehtab Bagh was once rumoured as the proposed site where Shah Jahan thought of building a Black Marble replica of the Taj Mahal. The rumour was fanned by the observation of the French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier who wrote in his account that before Shah Jahan could begin work on his tomb he was incarcerated by his son Aurangzeb. Finally ASI cleared the non-identical twin theory and came out with the conclusion that there was absolutely no evidence of Shah Jahan having planned another prototype. The Supreme Court directed in 1996 to plant trees every two meters in order to reduce the level of pollution in the city. This was an impediment for the thoughtfully planned Mehtab Bagh garden. The ASI pleaded the garden should only have plants that the Mughals used in their gardens. The Supreme Court agreed, but directed the NEERI and the ASI to arrive at a consensus on a common list of plants.
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