The Agra Municipal Corporation has also served a notice for over Rs 1.9 crore, Rs 1.5 lakh as water tax on Taj Mahal and Rs 5 crore on the Agra Fort. ASI has been told to clear the outstanding dues within 15 days.
In a first, the Agra Municipal Corporation has sent notices to the tax Archeological survey of India (ASI) asking to pay Rs. 1.9 Crore as water tax and Rs. 1.5 lakhs as property tax on the Taj Mahal as well as over Rs 5 crore on the Agra Fort. The bills are for the financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23
“Property tax is not applicable on monuments. We are also not liable to pay taxes for water as there is no commercial use of it. Water is used to maintain greenery within the premises. Notices related to water and property tax for Taj Mahal have been received for the first time. It could have been sent by mistake,” Raj Kumar Patel, ASI’s superintendent archaeologist, has been quoted as saying.
Assistant municipal commissioner and in-charge of the Tajganj zone, Sarita Singh, said, ”The matters related to notices issued for water and property tax on the Taj Mahal is being investigated. A private company has been asked to realise tax on the basis of a GIS Survey.
ASI officials said that Taj Mahal had been declared a protected monument in 1920 and that even during the British regime, no house or water tax has been levied on the Monuments.
