Taj Mahal served notice over property tax, water bills; ASI cries ‘mistake’
Agra's Nagar Nigam officials said that demand was first raised in 2017 and it is only now that a letter was served to the ASI.
In a first, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was issued a notice to pay property tax worth ₹1.40 lakh and a water bill worth ₹1 crore for the Taj Mahal, the iconic marble mausoleum located in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, by the city's municipal corporation – a notice the ASI claimed was a 'mistake'.
Speaking to news agency ANI, ASI superintending archaeologist for Agra circle Raj Patel said, “A notice for water tax and one for property tax has been issued. The property tax is around ₹1.40 lakh and the water tax is around ₹1 crore.”
ASI chief RK Patel asserted that monuments are not liable for municipal taxes and the notice seems to have been sent by mistake in regard to which ASI has written to Nagar Nigam Agra.
Meanwhile, a civic body official said that the notice was served for property and water tax not on the monument itself but the ticket window and residential wing at eastern gate of Taj Mahal.
The Nagar Nigam officials said that demand was first raised in 2017 and it is only now that a letter was served to the ASI.
Taj Mahal is a world heritage site and the most prominent example of the Mughal architecture in India, located on the south bank of the Yamuna river in Agra. Built between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, it attracts a huge number of tourists every year.
(With inputs from bureau, agency)