Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 20: The Taj Mahal in Agra, which brings millions of tourists to India every year, has received letters for property tax and water bills, For the first time in its 370-year history. It is a mistake, according to ASI officials and they hope will be remedied soon.
Several departments of the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government have sent summons for unpaid debts on the Taj Mahal and the Agra fort.
The Agra Municipal Corporation has slapped a notice on the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) asking it to pay Rs 1.9 crore as water tax and Rs 1.5 lakh as property tax. According to the reports of TOI, the bills are for the financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23.
As of now, three notices have been received, two for the Taj Mahal and one for the Agra Fort, according to Raj Kumar Patel, the ASI’s supervising archaeologist in Agra.
“First of all, property tax or house tax is not applicable to monument premises. Uttar Pradesh laws have this provision too and so do other states. As for the water notice, in the past no such demand has been made and we do not have any water connection that we use for any commercial purposes. The lawns that we maintain inside the Taj complex are for public service and there is no question of dues,” Dr Patel said.
Uttar Pradesh | A notice for water tax and one for property tax has been issued. The property tax is around Rs 1.40 Lakhs and the water tax is around Rs 1 Crore: ASI's Superintending Archaeologist (Agra circle) Raj Kumar Patel to ANI on tax notices for Taj Mahal pic.twitter.com/wuIhVxTXkR
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) December 20, 2022
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The Mughal rulers of the Mughal Dynasty lived in the Agra fort, a UNESCO world heritage site constructed by Akbar, as their primary home up until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. According to ASI officials, a five crore rupee tax claim has also been made against this historic monument.
“The cantonment board had served us notice for the Agra fort, a world heritage monument – a total of over Rs 5 crore. We have replied to them that the concerned government Act exempts monuments,” Dr Patel said.
A senior municipal official in Agra was quoted by The Times of India as saying that a probe into the notifications’ issuance process had been authorised. The officer added that notices were being processed privately under contract with the government.
