The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Union Government on a fresh plea seeking the government’s quick decision on whether the Ram Setu should be declared a national monument, Live Law reported.

The court has granted the Centre four weeks to respond.

The Ram Setu bridge – also known as the Adam’s Bridge – is a chain of limestone shoals connecting the Rameswaram island in Tamil Nadu and the Mannar island in Sri Lanka. According to Hindu mythology, the bridge was built by an army of monkeys for the deity Ram and his warriors to cross over to Lanka to rescue Sita.

The petition demanding that the Ram Setu be declared a national monument has been filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Subramanian Swamy. He told the court that the site is a “matter of faith” and is treated as a pilgrimage, Live Law reported.

The bridge has been embroiled in controversy since 2005, after the Congress-led government of the time proposed the Sethusamudram shipping channel project that would involve dredging in the area.

The Sethusamudram project has been opposed by several groups, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, as creating the channel would involve cutting through the Ram Setu.

The project was challenged before the Supreme Court in 2005, and some groups said no one should touch the shoals, given their mythological significance.

In 2007, the top court stayed work on the project.

The same year, the Archaeological Survey of India filed an affidavit before the court that said that Ram was a mythical character and that the Ramayana had no historical basis.

The BJP had used the affidavit to mount a campaign against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. The affidavit was later withdrawn by the Congress government.

In 2018, the BJP-led Union government submitted before the Supreme Court that it will not touch the Ram Setu and would find an alternate alignment for the channel.

Also read: Why a chain of limestone shoals between India and Sri Lanka has led to a political brawl

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